Been There All Along
by parispal
Summary: Campus celebrity Santana Lopez and shy film major Brittany Pierce cross paths during their last few months at college. A/U.
1. Sleepy Girl

**A/N: Once again, a story with new and old work mixed together. Not sure where this is going (or how long it'll be) yet but if you all like it, I'll keep going. Or it may work as an open-ended one shot. Let me know.**

* * *

Brittany had been up since 5 a.m. and she was exhausted. Her senior year at college was turning out to be a lot more hectic than she thought. She had so much on her plate already and the last thing she needed was being handed another huge project.

She already had two short films due for her advanced filmmaking class, an editing project, agreed to direct some videos for the school and a 10 page English paper.

So when her film professor and advisor, Holly Holliday, had asked her to help organize some sort of animal adoption event, Brittany didn't think much about it and had agreed.

When she singed up to join the University of Los Angeles's Animal Lover's League she thought she'd just be helping clean up litter boxes and walking dogs. Instead she somehow found herself as one of the ones in charge of organizing and setting up one of the biggest adoption fairs this school had ever seen.

Many of ULA's major investors were animal lovers and the university thought it would be a great idea to show just how much they too loved animals by hosting a Super Duper Adoption Fair.

"Come on Britts!" Holly told her, "You do love those cats. I know you want to find them homes."

"I do, I do," Brittany told her, "But what if I mess up? This is huge."

"Girl, you'll do fine," Holly said, "There are 10 other students helping and some faculty. And you got me, your favorite film teacher, helping you out. It's your senior year and in a couple of months you'll be out there making movies with Spielberg and thanking me in your Oscar speeches."

Brittany smiled.

"Ms. Brittany," Holly continued, "If you don't think you can help organize a simple adoption event, how the hell are you going to produce and direct Hollywood movies?"

That was all the motivation Brittany needed. Holly was right. If she was freaking out about organizing this event, how was she ever going to make it producing and directing Hollywood blockbusters.

"I can do this!" Brittany said, determination in her voice.

"That's my girl," Holly said, "But first, I'm going to need to to do me a super, huge favor."

"Sure, anything," Brittany said, eagerly.

"I forgot I signed up to attend this boring literature lecture tonight by the daughter of some millionaire or something and I can't go. Can you go in my place and just listen to her ramble or whatever then introduce yourself as a rep for our department."

"Umm, yeah sure," Brittany said even though sitting through a speech about books sounded boring, "But what does literature have to do with the film department?"

"Well, this chick loves movies," Holly said, "She's a student here and her family has money to spare. Her fam is going to donate to the English department, natch, but they are also going to donate some funds to another department and I'm hoping that's us."

"Oh, umm wow," Brittany managed to say, "But if this is so important, meeting her, why are you sending me? You're the head of the department, shouldn't you go?"

"There you go again doubting yourself," Holly said shaking her head, "You can do this. All you have to do is meet her, turn on the Britts charm and suggest she donate to the film department."

"And if she doesn't?"

"Then she doesn't," Holly said shrugging her shoulders, "No big."

Brittany took a deep breath, "OK, I'll go."

###

The alarm didn't go off.

"Shit!"

Santana jumped out of bed and headed straight for the bathroom.

"Fuck! Stupid alarm clock! I'm going to be so fucking late."

Today was not starting out the way she needed it to start. It was going to be a very busy day for the head cheerleader. She had a student council meeting first thing, followed by several cheerleader auditions to determine which new students deserved the last spots on the squad, lunch with her girlfriend Kate, interviewing candidates for head cheerleader, another student council meeting, and finally attending a boring speech being given by the daughter of one of the top donors of the school.

Santana had tried everything possible to get out of attending, but the head of the English department, William Schuester, said that her attending would really seal the deal. It did help that Santana already knew the speaker. They were friends. Sort of.

"Well, wouldn't it make a better impression if you attended Will?" Santana had asked.

"Probably, but I can't make it. And this is a speech about literature and books. Who better to send than the top student of the English department," Shue told her.

"Come on, Shue. Susan Davidson knows nothing about literature. The only reason she's even speaking is because her father is generous with his money. Plus, she's been trying to worm her way into the English assistant teaching position here for months, a position she's not qualified for may I add. And a position that should be given to me once I graduate," Santana argued.

"Santana, just go and pretend you care. For the school? The Davidson family is set to donate another round of the family fortune in about two weeks and we need that funding."

"Shit." Santana said under breath.

This was not a good day to start out late.

Santana showered and dressed at what was sure a new personal record. Already, 30 minutes behind, Santana headed out the door of her studio apartment.

As she ran to her car, she realized that she had forgotten her car keys on the kitchen table.

"Arrgh! Fuck!" she grunted, "Are you kidding me?"

Santana quickly went back inside, garbed her keys and went back out to her car. As she was pulling out of the parking lot, the phone rang.

"Here we go," she muttered, putting her speaker, "Hi, Kurt. Yes, yes I know. My fucking alarm clock didn't go off... I don't know, I think I set the damn thing up to p.m. instead of a.m... yeah, tell the council I got stuck in traffic. I'm almost there." Santana ended the call.

Finally, Santana arrived at ULA, but as she neared her parking spot, she saw that someone was already parked there.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" Santana said frustrated.

She picked up her cell and made a call.

"Kurt! Some fucking asshole is parked in my spot. Can you call the parking people and have them tow and ticket this asshole."

Santana had no choice but to park in the student parking lot. One of the many perks of being the head cheerleader of an award winning renown squad was getting reserved parking. No one dared touch that spot.

After what seemed like an eternity, Santana made it to the student conference room.

"Sorry I'm late, traffic was a nightmare." Santana said as she entered with a huge fake smile on her face.

###

Brittany tried desperately to keep her eyes open. If this class wasn't a requirement she would have never had signed up for it. American Contemporary Literature II was not in the least bit interesting to her. But she had to push on and force herself to pay attention.

She had managed to get through the class with the help of her friend Mercedes, who was sitting beside her taking notes like a madwoman as the teacher spoke. Brittany, as usual, would just get the notes from Mercedes later.

Brittany had thanked her lucky stars she had met Mercedes freshman year. Without her, Brittany was sure she would have flunked all of her English classes. Math, science and film were the only classes she really loved and had an easy time passing. But for some reason, literature and English were tough. Sometimes things meant something else, which really confused her.

Brittany felt like her eyes were made out of led. She felt as they slowly closed. She was so tired. If she could just close them for one minute….

"Brittany!" Mercedes whispered and hit her arm, "Wake up!"

Brittany snapped her eyes open and sat up straight, "I'm up," she said.

She looked at the clock. Ten more minutes and the class would be over.

###

An hour later, Santana headed to the football field.

"Hey Santana, your first auditions are here," Kurt said, then added, "They've been here for 15 minutes already."

Santana tried not to snap at Kurt. Her late start was pushing all her appointments behind.

Kurt Hummel was one of Santana's closest friends. He was the squad's assistant.

"OK, fine. How many students do I have to see again?" she asked.

"Sixteen."

"OK, I need to make up some time, so I'm going to try to audition a bunch at once."

"Oh, and Kate called and told me, quote, 'You better not cancel our lunch date' and she'll be here at 12:30 sharp." Kurt said, "Also, I'm not your personal assistant Santana. Tell your girlfriend to stop calling me and setting up your dates. I only assist with cheerleading stuff."

"I know that, sorry," Santana said, "I'll tell her. Look let's get this started. Send the first girls to the audition area," Santana said, "Oh, and did you call the parking people?"

"Yeah, the car is probably being towed as we speak," Kurt said, "And again, that sounds like a personal problem, not cheerleading."

"It is cheerleading business," Santana said, "I was late here because of that jerk."

"Fine," Kurt said, "Anyway the tow truck is probably already there."

"Good! Fucking people have no respect for a reserved parking spot." Santana said as she headed the the audition area.

Ten minutes later Santana watched as a new batch of girls tried out to join the ULA cheerleading squad.

I hate this, Santana thought.

Well, not all of it. Santana did love watching these barely dressed girls dance and do cartwheels for her, but she hated this whole audition process.

Santana had gotten a cheerleading scholarship to ULA her senior year of high school. A full ride. But now in her senior year, she was more than ready to hand off all her cheer duties to the next girl.

Santana hated cheerleading. She hated being the campus celebrity. She hated going to football games. But she put up with it because it was the only way she would be able to study what she really loved. English and art.

"Let's go!" Santana yelled at the girls, "This isn't high school anymore!"

When she first came to the university it had been quite the social scandal that one of ULA's top cheerleaders was just a big book nerd, but Santana didn't care. She knew cheerleading was only a means to and end. So she put up with it. It did have it's perks, though. You were treated like a star, got invited to the best parties and got to look at hot girls all day. Discreetly of course.

Santana had realized she was gay halfway through her senior year of high school. Her parents knew and apparently had always known and were just waiting for Santana to admit it to herself. Her friends in high school knew too.

Apparently everyone and their grandmother knew Santana was gay before she did. At least that's how Santana saw it.

The ULA squad was OK with it, no one really cared. In fact, there were a couple of girls who also preferred the company of other girls. Santana had slept with both of them.

Now though, she had actually managed to just date one girl. She had been dating Kate for about four months. They had fun together but Santana didn't see it lasting more than just a few months. Kate was great but with graduation coming up, her studies were what was really important to Santana.

She dismissed the first batch of girls and made a note of who to cut.

It was now mid morning but Santana felt like it was late afternoon. OK, she thought, if I cut down the auditions by about 5 or 10 minutes I should be back on schedule. Suddenly her first solo audition appeared.

"Santana Lopez! I'm so excited about this audition, you will not be disappointed with my routine, I have been inspired and you'll see that it has affected my dance in a positive way, I'm perfect for the team...…"

Santana stopped listening. This girl was talking a mile a minute and every time Santana tried to cut her off, she started on again about how inspired she was. She couldn't take anymore.

"Hey!" Santana cut her off, "How about less talking and more cheerleading."

The girl was startled. She quickly fumbled with getting into place and soon began her routine.

Santana knew in the first five seconds this girl was not going to pass to the next phase.

After the third of her six solo auditions ended, Santana looked at the clock. 12:00. Three auditions to go.

After the latest girl left she had a small window to take a break. She went to the nearby bench as sat down to take a breath.

"Damn! What a fucking day and I can't even relax after school. Fuck." she said out loud. I really don't want to go to this speech, she thought.

Just then, Santana looked up and saw Susan Davidson walk towards her.

"Santana, how are you?"

Fucking great, just what I need.

Forcing a smile, Santana greeted her guest.

"Susan, how are you?"

"Great. A little nervous about my speech this evening, but I'm doing great." Susan said, "I heard you were attending and I can't tell you how glad I was to hear that. Maybe we can meet for drinks after, you know, to talk about literature and the school," Susan said in a somewhat flirty voice.

"Uh, maybe. I might just have to leave right away, I have a big paper due soon," Santana said quickly.

Santana had met Susan during her sophomore year. They were both on the same career path and it seemed like both were going after the same job. There was no way to avoid Susan. And it didn't help that Susan was always trying to get in her pants.

Santana thought she was pretty but very annoying.

"Are you still dating that girl who wants to be an actress?" Susan asked.

"Yes, I'm dating 'that actress,'" Santana replied.

"Well, feel free to bring a guest to my speech if you'd like," Susan said, her voice now sounding a little angry.

"Thanks Susan. I'm sorry, but I have girls coming in any second now for an audition, so I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave. We can talk more this evening. I'll be there early and we can talk more," Santana said in her sweetest voice.

She hated she had to be nice to this annoying gnat.

"Of course, I'll let you get back to work," Susan said turning to leave. "So, how many for tonight? You and a guest, then?"

"Maybe."

"OK, see you tonight, Santana," Susan said.

As soon as Susan was off the field, Santana let out a sigh. She was aware that Susan was after her.

This is going to suck, Santana thought.

She looked at her watch. It was getting so late. She took out her phone and called Kate to cancel their lunch date. As expected, Kate was pissed.

###

Brittany spent the rest of her day editing and had managed to finish one of her projects. She had been so concentrated on her project she lost track of time and had to go to the speech from school. She didn't even have time to go home but she did manage to make it early to the lecture.

Brittany took a deep breath and entered the small lecture hall and looked around. Everyone looked so academic and a bit intimidating. To Brittany, everyone seemed dressed like some strict librarian and she wondered if she should have dressed differently.

Brittany looked down at her white slacks with suspenders hanging down, light purple top and a tie with baby ducks on them and wondered if they'd kick her out for not following the dress code.

Fuck it, Brittany thought.

She looked up at the stage and saw a podium where she assumed the rich lady would speak. Brittany now wished she had brought her iPod. Her boyfriend Jesse had offered to come with her, but she had told him he didn't have to. Now she wished she had taken him up on the offer if only to help her stay awake.

She yawned.

She needed caffeine if she was going to survive this. She headed out the door went searching for a vending machine.

###

Santana opted for simple black jeans with a navy striped shirt. No way in hell she was dressing to the nines for this shit. But Santana had to admit that she made a simple outfit more than just simple. Wow, I'm arrogant, she thought with a smile.

Santana had told Susan she would be there early so they could chat. Ha! No way that was happening. Traffic to the lecture was a nightmare but Santana made it just five minutes before the start of the speech. The room was filled with white chairs, all facing a small stage with a podium. There was a huge banner that said, "Davidson Family presents A Night of Literature."

How original, Santana thought.

The place was packed. Santana couldn't help but smirk. She was convinced that all these people were only here because they wanted money. That's why she was here. Since she had gotten there late, Santana had to sit in the back row, the second furthest seat from the aisle. There was an empty seat one row in front of her, but Santana wanted to sit as close to the exit as possible. Everyone was quiet and waiting for the event to start. As a tall man with a white mustache went to the podium, Santana heard a small commotion near the aisle.

"Excuse me, excuse me. I'm sorry, did I step on you?" Brittany said as she tried to get to the one empty seat.

She had gotten distracted looking for a vending machine or store that she lost track of time. When she finally realized the time she rushed back to the hall and saw the packed room.

When she looked around she saw that there was one seat left on the second to last row at the far end near the wall.

I'm already screwing up, she thought.

Santana watched as a tall blond with a duck tie made her way down the row and finally settled in the seat in front of her. Her long hair was covering her face as she looked down, probably to make sure she didn't step on anyone's foot, so Santana couldn't see who she was.

Who the hell wears a duck tie to a lecture, Santana thought.

The lights dimmed a little and Susan came up on stage.

"Here we go!" Santana said to herself.

"Welcome, all. My name is Susan Davidson and I want to talk to you about what books mean..." Susan went on about how we interpret literature, how it impacts us and other nonsense. It was clear that she had just read a bunch of books and was regurgitating passages.

Jesus. It's like she read 'Literature for Dummies' or something, Santana thought.

Brittany stopped listening pretty early on. The speaker's monotone voice, boring subject and the fact that Brittany was utterly exhausted were working against her. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for just a second.

Santana looked at her watch and wondered how much longer Susan would talk for about a subject she knew nothing about. Santana knew she should be the one up there giving this speech. Santana looked in front of her and saw that the blond with the duck tie had leaned her head against the wall.

Santana wondered if Susan had put this poor girl to sleep. Santana leaned forward a bit and managed to see that the girl did have her eyes closed.

Santana couldn't help but smile. She didn't blame the girl, Susan was boring as fuck. Santana tried to get a better look at the sleeping girl but the girl's head was facing down and Santana could only really see her closed eyes.

Oh well, whatever, Santana thought leaning back in her chair.

For the rest of the speech, Santana would occasionally glance at the girl in front of her to see if she was still asleep. She was. The speech went on for about 40 minutes, but Santana didn't even notice the time pass. She had made a sort of game guessing if the girl would wake up.

After Susan finished her speech, the crowed clapped. Santana saw that the girl still didn't wake up. People were getting up to leave and making lots of noise, yet the girl with the duck tie didn't stir. Santana didn't want to leave until the girl woke up. She wanted to finish the mental game she had created about this girl. Finally, after more than half of the audience had left, she woke up.

"Oh shit! Did I fall asleep?" she asked no one in particular, her voice sleepy.

"Yeah, you did," Santana said.

Brittany snapped her head up and looked behind her. Any residual sleepiness she felt quickly went away. Standing there looking down at her was Santana Lopez.

She had never met Santana but had seen her on TV and in posters all over school. She was practically royalty at ULA. Every student was a fan of Santana Lopez, she was the resident celebrity. Everyone had a crush on Santana, including Brittany.

Brittany had been dragged to a football game by Mercedes about two years ago when her then football player boyfriend had gotten her tickets right in the first row by the cheerleaders.

Brittany had spent almost the whole game watching Santana.

"Stay away from that one," Mercedes had said, when she caught Brittany staring, "She's a heartbreaker and besides you do still have a boyfriend last time I checked."

Brittany ignored Mercedes and continued to watch Santana. Brittany never hid the fact she was Bisexual to anyone. She had known she was attracted to boys and girls at the young age of 13. It was just normal to her. Her parents being the hippies, super liberal people they are, actually congratulated her on being so evolved. Brittany didn't understand what they meant and had simply just nodded.

Brittany had continued to watch Santana and at one point was sure that Santana had caught her. So Brittany looked away.

Ever since then, Brittany had become a fan of Santana and despite going to the same school, had never seen her outside of going to a football game.

Santana was glad to finally get a chance to really see what the sleeping duck tie girl looked like. The first word that came to Santana's mind was "cute". The girl looked sort of familiar but not really. Santana was sure she had never met her, she would have remembered, but she couldn't shake the feeling she somehow had seen her before.

"I didn't drool?" Brittany asked horrified at the possibility that she did drool and at the fact she had just asked Santana that question.

"No," Santana said with as small laugh, "No drool."

Brittany's extreme embarrassment was soon forgotten when she realized she had indeed missed the whole speech. Holly was going to kill her. Actually, no she wasn't but Brittany hated that she may have somehow let her down and the film department wouldn't get this money.

"Oh man, I missed the speech," Brittany said looking at Santana with still sleepy eyes.

"It was one of the best speeches I've ever attended." Santana joked.

As the last of the attendees was leaving, Santana saw Susan approach. Shit, she saw me!

"Santana! I was waiting for you earlier, you'd said we could chat before the speech," Susan said in a flirty voice. Seeing Brittany, Susan let out an audible "Oh!"

Brittany stood up when she recognized the speaker and prayed that Susan Davidson hadn't seen her sleep through the whole speech.

"Sorry," Susan said looking at Brittany, "Are you Santana's plus one?"

"Huh?" Brittany asked confused, "Umm no. I'm not a plus anything."

Santana let out a small laugh.

"Don't be rude Susan," Santana said, "Introduce yourself."

Santana knew that once Susan found out the duck tie girl wasn't a friend of Santana's, Susan would dismiss her and for some reason, Santana hated that thought. Plus, this was a great way to put a name to the sleepy girl.

Susan put on her best fake smile, "Of course, I'm sorry. I'm Susan Davidson."

Brittany took Susan's stretched out hand and shook it, "I'm Brittany S. Pierce."

Santana racked her brain trying to remember if she knew any Brittanys. She didn't.

"And I'm Santana Lopez," Santana said stretching out her hand to Brittany.

Brittany felt her mouth go incredibly dry. For so long she had only seen Santana on TV or at football games that she almost didn't seem real. But here she was offering her hand and introducing herself.

"Brittany," she said her name again, shaking her hand.

"I got it the first time you said it," Santana teased with a smile.

Brittany wanted to crawl under these chairs and just die from embarrassment.

"Oh so you two don't know each other?" Susan asked seeming relieved.

"Nope," Santana said looking at Brittany, "Well we do now. Right Brittany?"

"Uh yeah," Brittany said softly.

Santana realized that she hadn't stopped smiling since the second the duck tie girl had woken up. There was something really sweet about this girl that Santana liked.

"Wait, Brittany," Susan said suddenly, "You're here for Holly!"

"Yes," Brittany said, glad that she could focus on Susan and not Santana, "She, uh, she couldn't make it and sent me."

"Holly is great," Susan said, admiration in her voice, "I'm sorry she couldn't make it. Are you in film too?"

"Yes," Brittany said, her eyes lighting up, "I am. Holly's my teacher and advisor."

"I love movies," Susan said, "Well, while I'm sorry Holly couldn't be here, I'm glad she felt my speech was important enough to send someone. I greatly appreciate that."

Santana just rolled her eyes.

"She'll be sad she missed it," Brittany lied, "It was a great speech. I was riveted through the whole thing."

Santana snickered.

"Well thank you," Susan said, throwing Santana an odd look, "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

Brittany looked at Santana and saw that she had her hand covering her mouth, trying to hide a smile.

"Tell Holly," Susan went on, "That my family is highly considering donating the second grant to the film department."

"Oh, great!" Brittany said, excited, "That's awesome. Yeah, I'll tell her. We could really use some new editing equipment."

"So you're a film major?" Santana asked.

Brittany just nodded.

"Sophomore? Junior?" Santana asked, wanting more information.

"Senior," Brittany said.

"Really?" Santana asked surprised.

"Well," Susan said clapping her hands together, "Santana you promised to hang out and since you were late how about we do that now?"

"Well, I…"

"No excuses," Susan instead, "One quick drink."

Brittany took that as her cue to leave.

"I'll leave you two to your drink," Brittany said, grabbing her purse from the seat, "Again, great speech Susan and I'll tell Holly you said hello."

"Great," Susan said, "Nice to meet you Brittany."

"You too," Brittany said moving down the row.

Santana watched as Brittany made her was down the row and found it sort of rude she hadn't said anything to her before she left.

Brittany got to the aisle and turned to Santana, "Nice to meet you too Santana."

"Same," Santana said as she watched Brittany exit.

"Now," Susan said, "What shall we drink."

Santana turned her attention from the exit and looked at Susan, "Anything is fine."

"Come on," Susan said, "Let's get out of here. We could go to a bar but you'd have to drive. My car was towed at your school today. So annoying. Just because I parked at a reserved spot."

Santana smiled at the small victory.

She followed Susan out the door and to the parking lot and scanned the area to see if she could spot Brittany again.

She didn't see her.

-**tbc**-


	2. Charitable Mood

**A/N: Alright, I sort of got a small idea on where this may go so I'll keep going. Also wanted to mention that I'm not using any real universities. So ULA isn't a typo for UCLA. Using fake schools so I can make up the curriculum and rules. :) Thanks everyone!**

**Also, thanks to ttandme69 for letting me know about the name typo. Was going back and forth on what to name Susan. All fixed. ;)  
**

* * *

This time Santana's alarm went off on time.

Her eyes still closed, she reached over and hit the "snooze" button. She had checked the alarm three times and made sure the damn thing was set to p.m.

An hour later, bathed and dressed, Santana was walking out the front door when her phone rang. It was Sam.

"Hey Sam," Santana greeted.

"Hey lady! You and Kate still meeting us for breakfast right?" Sam asked.

"I am. I just need to drop off an application," Santana said, as she headed to her car, "I'm trying to get this T.A. job in the English department."

"Santana, we don't graduate for a few months," Sam said, "You're already applying?"

"This is the time to do it, genius," Santana said, "I want my name at the top of this list!"

"OK, OK. So hurry your ass up. Kurt is late, Tina's half asleep and I'm already on my third piece of toast," Sam said, his voice a bit muffled.

"It's rude to talk with you mouth full Sam," Santana said.

"Mmmfh," Sam managed to say.

Santana hung up, disgusted with her friend.

After dropping off her application, Santana headed straight to The Bean, the campus cafe. Unlike yesterday, today was a very light day for Santana. She was attending one class and auditioning one group of perspective cheerleaders and then heading home. Santana got to the front door of The Bean when she remembered.

"Shit! I forgot to call Kate," she said to herself. "Damn it, Santana stop forgetting about your girlfriend."

She pulled her phone out and started to dial when she spotted Kate coming from the other direction.

"Santana!" Kate said as she met her girlfriend at the front door. She reached up for a morning kiss.

"Hey," Santana said kissing back.

"Thanks for calling me about breakfast," Kate said sarcastically.

"Ugh, I'm sorry," Santana said, "I've just been so busy, it slipped my mind."

"I'm not supposed to slip your mind Santana," Kate said with a slight edge to her voice, "If it wasn't for Kurt texting me I wouldn't even be here."

"I said I was sorry," Santana said, "I'll make it up to you OK?

"That's two things you have to make up," Kate said, her voice a litte lighter, "You still owe me for blowing me off for our lunch yesterday."

"I didn't blow you off Kate, I had to do something for the school," Santana protested.

"Either way, I'm collecting," Kate said, then winked.

Santana watched as Kate walked in to The Bean. Santana found Kate so frustrating sometimes. She'd go from mad to flirty in a flash. In the beginning of their relationship Kate had been fun, but the more time they spent together, Santana was finding her girlfriend to be kind of difficult. She just sighed and followed her inside.

Sam, Tina and Kurt were seated at a center table already drinking coffee. Santana scanned the cafe and her eyes found a familiar figure. The sleeping girl from last night. Brittany.

She was sitting in a far corner table furiously writing something in a file. Santana walked over the where her friends were eating and sat down, still watching Brittany.

"About time you got here," Tina said, "Now we can order! I'm starving."

The waitress came by and took everyone orders. While they waited for their food, the gang talked about everything and nothing. Kate asked Santana about the speech yesterday and Santana had simply told her it was boring. Kate went on to mentioned that her friends were planing a camping trip this weekend and she really wanted Santana to come with her.

"In the woods?" Santana asked, incredulous.

"Yes that's the whole point," Kate said, "To get away from the city. And you'll get to meet my friends."

"Sounds like fun," Santana said trying to sound excited. Truth be told Santana Lopez did not do nature. She was a city girl. And the thought of spending time with Kate's circle of friends was something she did not want to do at all. They were all a bunch of pertinacious actors and theatre majors. Santana couldn't help but think that she had to come up with a plan to get out of this. This relationship was already proving to be too much work.

Santana would occasionally glance in Brittany's direction and see her working. Brittany seemed so engrossed in her work that she never looked up or even seemed to noticed anything around her. Santana wondered what had the girl so focused.

Kate must have followed her line of sight because Santana was surprised at what her girlfriend said next.

"Oh! There's Brittany. I need to talk to her."

"You know her?" Santana asked surprised.

"Sure," Kate said, "Nice girl, kinda spacy, but nice. She's in the film department and an amazing director and editor. I've been trying to get her to produce a short video highlighting my acting, you know for auditions, but I can never seem to get a hold of her." Kate got up. "I'm going to go talk to her now."

"Wait, stop," Santana said, "She's obviously very busy, don't bother her."

"I'm only going to be a few seconds, she won't mind," Kate said, "This is for my career!"

"At least wait until she's done," Santana said, not sure why she even cared if this Brittany girl was interrupted. But Santana always hated being bothered when she was in the middle of a good book or writing a paper. She was just stopping Kate from being rude.

"Fine, fine," Kate said sitting back down, "The minute she gets up, let me know."

"Sure," Santana said.

"She's cute," Sam added who had turned around to look at Brittany.

"Eat your toast," Santana said a bit harshly.

A few minutes later Santana saw Brittany start to clean up her files and collect her things. No one else had noticed and Santana didn't bother telling Kate.

She noticed Brittany reaching for her phone just as the table's food came. Brittany looked up and Santana was sure she had seen her but there was a slight commotion as everyone was getting their plates that when Santana looked for Brittany again, she couldn't find her. Brittany's table was empty and she was no where to be seen.

"Fuck!" Kate said, "She's gone. Did anyone see her leave?"

Everyone shook their head.

"Nope," Santana said.

###

Brittany took a deep breath. The adoption fair was this weekend and she had so much to do. She had gotten up at 5 am again and started working on all the permits and paperwork for the fair. By 7, she needed to get out of her apartment. She went to school and decided to finish up her paperwork at The Bean.

The place was packed but Brittany managed to find a spot in a corner table. She was dead tired but she managed to finish everything in a little over an hour.

After leaving The Bean she headed straight to Holly's office.

"Ms. Brittany!" Holly greeted enthusiastically, "Come in. Sit down."

Brittany wondered how Holly had so much energy so early in the morning. There was a point in her life when Brittany was nothing but a ball of energy, but ever since she'd been in college, that energy seemed to have disappeared.

"Good morning Holly," Brittany said as she dropped her files on her desk and took a seat, "Here you go. All done and we're good to go on the adoption fair."

"Awesome sauce," Holly said, "And the lecture yesterday? How'd that go?"

Brittany leaned back in the chair and let out a breath.

"Uh oh," Holly said, "What happened?"

"Umm, I sort of," Brittany began, "Kinda, fell asleep."

Brittany was still so embarrassed about what had happened. For one, she had been sent to do one job and she had failed. Also, she had fallen asleep and Santana Lopez had been the one to point it out.

She must think I'm a total idiot, she thought.

On the bright side though, Brittany was sure she'd never see her again. She had gone almost four years not running into the campus celebrity and was sure she wouldn't run into her the remaining months they had on this campus. Santana Lopez would just go back to being that hot girl she saw on posters and football games every once in a while.

"You fell asleep?" Holly asked, amusement all over her face, "Awesome!"

"Awesome?"

"Girl, I don't even blame you," Holly said, "I've met Susan, what a snoozfest! I would have fallen asleep too. Did you at least talk to her after?"

"Yeah," Brittany said, "She said she loved movies and to tell you hello. So, 'Hi'."

"That's all you could have done," Holly said, "Hopefully she'll have her daddy give us the money. If not, maybe we can nab a rich dude at this adoption fair."

Brittany laughed. She loved Holly. Not only was she one of the best film teachers around but Brittany considered her a friend.

Holly let out a breath, "On to more exciting stuff," Holly said, "Here is a list of your volunteers for the adoption fair. At least two people from most of the departments. You'll get an updated one the morning of the fair."

Brittany took the list and quickly scanned it.

"And also, you're getting to be quite the popular one around the department," Holly said.

"Me? Why?" Brittany asked confused.

"Oh I don't know, maybe it's cause you won the student filmmakers award last month for that short documentary you made on the landscapers of this school. That was amazing."

"It was OK," Brittany just said.

"You need to stop being so modest," Holly said, "Anyway, people are seeing your other short movies and are peeing their pants because they're so good."

"Gross," Brittany said scrunching up her nose.

"The athletic department wants us to produce a short recruitment video for them," Holly said, "And I want you to do it."

While Brittany was glad that people were loving her work, she really didn't need to take on yet another project. She had her classes to pass and other projects already waiting to be completed.

"I don't know Holly," Brittany said, "I'm kinda swamped. Like I wish I could split myself in half, kinda swamped. Swamp man swamped."

"It'll be good for your resume Britt," Holly said, "Look, I was going to tell you later but I might as well do it now."

"What?"

"I have a friend who co-runs an independent movie company in New York," Holly said, "And he told me they will have a few openings this summer. After you graduate. I recommended you."

"You did?" Brittany asked sitting up, excitement in her voice.

"Yup," Holly said, "I know you've done a lot of short films since you've been here, but having more will only help you. This recruitment video is perfect to show you can do all types of shorts. Not just documentaries."

"New York," Brittany said softly, "I've always wanted to go there. Ever since I saw Home Alone 2."

"So what do you say," Holly said, "Help out the athletic department?"

"Yeah," Brittany said smiling, "I'll do it."

Brittany would try to figure out where she'd find the time, but she wasn't about to mess this up.

###

Santana watched as another group of girls auditions for the squad. This was the last group she'd have to see. While she couldn't give a rats ass about what happened to the squad after she was gone, she wasn't about to tarnish her legacy at this school by picking mediocre girls to join.

"YOU!" Santana yelled at one of the girls auditioning, "You're out. You have the balance of a drunk."

The girl left the field in tears.

"LOPEZ!"

Santana turned around to see her coach, Sue Sylvester.

"Yes Coach?"

Sue motioned for Santana to come to her.

"It's your lucky day, Lopez," Sue said when Santana reached her.

"My short stories were published?" Santana asked, excited.

"What? No, you nerd," Sue said, annoyed, "You are representing the ULA squad at the Super Duper Pet Circus event this weekend. Yay!"

"What?"

"OK, listen," Sue said, "The Dean is riding my ass for not doing more charity work so I told him I'd help out at this barnyard adoption but I'd rather claw my eyes out. So, I'm sending my captain in my place. Congratulations."

"Are you kidding me?" Santana asked, stunned, "I don't even like animals."

"Too bad," Sue said, "I've already signed you up. You're working the Chiguagua tent or something."

"But.."

"This weekend!" Sue said and was gone.

"Fuck!"

Santana turned back to the auditioning girls and dismissed another one. After it was all over only two girls made it to the next phase.

She saw Kurt sprint to her as she was gathering up her stuff to go home.

"So, just two this time?" Kurt asked.

"Just two," Santana said, "I cannot wait until this is over."

"I'll put them on the list for the final round," Kurt said.

"Let's get the the fuck out of here," Santana said as she began walking off the field.

"You excited for this weekend?" Kurt asked.

"No," Santana said, "Last thing I want to do is spend the weekend picking up dog shit."

"Huh?" Kurt asked confused, "They're brining dogs camping?"

"What?" Santana asked, now she was confused.

"Umm camping with Kate and her friends," Kurt said, "At breakfast you said you'd go."

"Oh shit!" Santana said stopping, "I forgot."

"How could you forget?" Kurt asked, "It was this morning."

Santana felt a smile tug at her lips. Sue forcing her to volunteer at this dog thing was the perfect excuse not to go camping.

"What are you smiling about?" Kurt asked.

"Hey Kurt," Santana said, ignoring his question, "How would you feel about helping me help some homeless animals this weekend?"

They continued to walk off the football field. Santana was suddenly in a very charitable mood.

-**tbc** -


	3. Cat Tent

**A/N: Glad you're liking this. I'm hoping to make future chapters longer. ;) Thanks for reading and commenting.**

* * *

Brittany took a deep breath. She scanned the football field of the university and smiled. It was 8:30 in the morning and people were putting the finishing touches on the adoption event.

"I did good," Brittany told herself.

Despite all her insecurities about helping putting this together, she did. Everything had been set up on time and without any major problems. This was a major confidence boost for Brittany and now knew she could handle any big projects that came her way.

The football field was almost unrecognizable with tents, balloons, animal cages and tarps all around. She really hoped many of these animals found homes.

Brittany looked over the updated volunteer list and read the names of the people that had agreed to help. She recognized a few names but most were strangers to her.

Each university department had someone helping out for which Brittany was grateful. They needed all the help they could get. As she reached the bottom of the page, she spotted a name that surprised her.

Santana Lopez.

"That has to be a mistake," Brittany said to herself.

Now, reading her name on the volunteer list, Brittany wondered if she'd get to see the girl that had seen her fall asleep at a lecture. The thought of running into Santana again made her queasy. Luckily, Brittany saw that Santana was assigned to the dog section which Brittany wouldn't really be working in. She had managed to get Mercedes to help her out and when Santana came to sign in, Mercedes would probably be the one she'd have to talk to.

Brittany let out a sigh of relief.

"Hey baby."

Brittany was snapped out of her thoughts by her boyfriend, Jesse St. James.

"Hi," she said greeting him with a kiss.

"I'm here and ready to work," Jesse said, "What should I do?"

Brittany put her arm around his waist and began walking towards the main tent, "You, my sweet boyfriend, get to help process adoptions."

"You know," Jesse said, squeezing Brittany tighter, "Just because I'm your boyfriend doesn't mean you can't give me dirty jobs. I'll gladly pick up poop."

Brittany laughed, "If you really want to be on poop duty, I can totally give you that."

"Hmmm, well…how about I work the adoption tent first half and walk some dogs the second half?"

"Done."

Brittany had been dating Jesse for almost two years. He was sweet, nice and they had so much fun together. She cared for him a lot but lately the relationship was starting to feel more like a friendship with sex.

Brittany showed Jesse his station then went on to walk the rest of the grounds. The trucks with the animals had just arrived and animals were slowly being lead to their appropriate tent.

"This is going to be a success," Brittany told herself, forgetting all about Santana Lopez and giving her full attention to the fair.

###

"It's fucking hot!" Santana complained, "It's only February and it already feels like summer!"

"Global warming," Kurt deadpanned.

It was only 10 am and it was already 90 degrees. When Sue had told her she'd be assigned to the Chiguagua tent, she had thought she was making joke. But she wasn't. Santana was surrounded by small, yapping little rodent dogs.

"Just a few more hours," Kurt said, "Then we can go get some food."

Santana had roped Kurt into volunteering with her. If she had to do this she was going to at least bring someone she knew and not have to make small talk with a bunch of strangers.

"I'm hungry now," Santana whined, "I really should start eating more than just a piece of toast for breakfast."

"I keep telling you," Kurt said, a small black and brown Chiguagua in his arms, "Why do you think we make you have group breakfasts once in a while. It's the only time you actually eat breakfast. Anyway, volunteer coordinator that checked us in, Mercedes, told me there's a tent for us where they have snacks and drinks."

"Where?"

"I think it's by the parking lot," Kurt said, "Go, go get some food and I'll hold down the fort here."

"What fort?" Santana asked, "We've been here an hour and not one person has shown even a bit of interest in taking one of these annoying dogs."

"It's still early," Kurt said, "Look how cute they are, people will come. Just you watch."  
Santana took a look at the makeshift play pen that housed the 15 little dogs and shook her head in pity. Pathetic, she thought.

"Alright," Santana said, "I'm going to go find the food tent. You want anything?"

"Something to drink and whatever low-cal snack they have."

Santana stepped out of the tent into the football field, the hot sun hitting her skin. Although dressed in shorts, she had been forced to wear a light blue polo shirt with the word 'volunteer' etched on the back and the front. She wished she was wearing a tank top.

Santana walked around the field and all she could see where booths and tents filled with all sorts of animals. As always, Santana had a few random students come up to her and tell her how big of a fan they were of her. Santana always tried to be civil, but after awhile it really got on her nerves. She rolled her eyes in frustration at the students bothering her and at the noise and smell of all the animals. But she kept walking. Five minutes of walking through the maze of tents, she still couldn't find the food tent.

Finally, she just decided to go into one of the bigger tents and ask someone. She entered the cat tent. She hated cats.

Santana spotted a girl with the same blue polo shirt she was wearing, reading some paper on a clipboard.

"Hey! You with the clipboard," Santana called out.

Brittany looked up. When she saw who had spoken, she froze. So much for not bumping into Santana Lopez, she thought.

The last person Santana expected to see was Brittany. But here she was and for some odd reason, Santana was sort of glad to see her.

"Sleepy girl," Santana teased with a smile, "You got roped into volunteering too?"

Brittany just stared at Santana, the head cheerleader for the varsity squad and most popular girl on campus, was talking to her. Again.

"Hellooooo," Santana said, "Is the heat getting to you?"

"Uh…no," Brittany stammered, "I'm cold. I mean I'm not..hot."

"Good," Santana said, a bit amused, "For a second there I thought you fell asleep again."

"Umm, no," Brittany said with a small smile, "I'm awake this time."

"Great," Santana said stepping closer to Brittany, "I see you got stuck in the cat tent. One of your teachers make you do this?"

Brittany shook her head, "No, I volunteered. I, uh, actually helped organize the whole event. I'm sort of in charge," Brittany said lifting her clipboard, "Got a clipboard and everything."

Santana smiled. Her irritation at the heat and at being stuck here seemed to be fading. She found this fidgety girl amusing.

"Wow," Santana said, "Well, you did a good job."

"Thanks," Brittany said shyly.

Brittany felt like throwing up. Here was the girl she had had a crush on for almost two years talking to her as if they were friends. She felt nervous, excited and self-conscious all at one. She wondered if this what it was like when fans met Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

"So, umm," Santana went on, surprised at how nice she was being this this girl, "Have you heard from Susan yet?"

"No, not yet," Brittany said, "I really don't think we're getting that money. I'm sure she saw me fall asleep."

"Don't worry," Santana said with a laugh, "Susan is so full of herself she wouldn't have noticed anything. I'll call her, put in a good word for the film department."

"Really?" Brittany asked, surprised, "Yeah, that'd be awesome."

"No problem," Santana said.

There was an awkward silence.

"Umm, thanks for volunteering," Brittany said wanting to make the awkwardness go away.

"Well, it wasn't by choice. I was forced to work over at the Chiguagua tent, which I still think is some how racist."

"I don't know how," Brittany said confused, "Uh, do, do you want to work the cat tent then? Is that why you came in here?"

"Yeah, no," Santana said, "I'm not big on cats. I just got lost. I was told we'd get free food but I can't find where."

Brittany tried to focus on what Santana was saying. She still couldn't believe Santana was talking to her.

"Um, yeah," Brittany managed to snap out of her daze, "It's..the food tent is next to the admin building. Just show them your I.D. badge."

"Great, thanks," Santana said.

"BRITTANY!"

Brittany looked up to see who had called her name. It was Holly who was standing a few feet further back from where Santana stood with Mercedes next to her. She was waving her arms to get her attention.

"I guess you have to go," Santana said, "I'll see you around I guess."

"Yeah," Brittany said, feeling her mouth incredibly dry, "If you have any questions or concerns, you can talk to me."

"Yeah, OK," Santana said with a laugh. She turned and started walking in the direction of the food tent.

Santana soon disappeared into the crowd.

Brittany just stood there wondering just how much of a dork she had come across to Santana. Again.

She felt a flush of embarrassment.

"GET OVER HERE!" Mercedes yelled, now also waving her arm trying to get Brittany's attention, "WE NEED MORE DOOGIE TREATS!"

Brittany smiled and began walking over to Holly and Mercedes. Her embarrassing encounter with Santana shoved to the back of her mind.

###

Santana found the food tent easily after getting directions from Brittany. She got herself and Kurt some waters and sandwiches. When she went back to her assigned section she saw that Kurt was handing over a dog to a little girl.

"Santana!" Kurt said sounding happy, "We got our first adoption!"

"That's great," Santana said.

A few minutes ago she wouldn't have cared. But after finding out that Brittany had been one of the ones to put this whole thing together, she now wanted the event to be a success. She figured it was because she now had a face to associate with all of this. Plus the more yapping dogs that got adopted from her section the sooner she could go home.

"How long are we supposed to be here?" Kurt asked a couple of hours later, "I love these little guys but I don't want to spend my whole day off here melting in this heat. My skin is not cut out for this."

Santana looked at her watch. It was now almost one. Out of the 15 dogs in their tent six had been adopted and that seemed like a good number for a morning's work.

"Our replacements should be here soon," Santana said, "They better not be late cause I'm not spending one minute past one in this place. These dogs can just look after themselves."

"Oh, please," Kurt said, "You may be the least patient person I know, but you're also one of the most responsible. No way you leave your post unattended."

"Whatever," Santana said, hating that Kurt knew her so well.

"Who's in charge here anyway?" Kurt asked, getting up before Santana could answer, "I'm going to go try and find the person with the schedule…"

"Uh, wait," Santana said, "I'll go."

"No, let me," Kurt said, "I've been stuck in this tent all day, I want to walk around."

"You don't even know who you're looking for," Santana said, "Or where to go."

"And you do?"

"I ran into one of the girls in charge," Santana said, "I'll go ask her."

Santana wasn't even sure Brittany had the schedule information for her section but Brittany did say to got to her if she had any questions or concerns.

Before Santana could step foot out of her area a smug looking guy and a short red head girl walked up.

"Hi," the girl said sounding way over eager, "I'm Daisy and this is Jesse. We're here to take over."

Santana felt a sense of relief and disappointment at seeing her replacements. Relief because she could finally go home but a bit of disappointment that she didn't have to go looking for the girl with the clipboard.

"Fantastic!" Kurt said joining them and then went on to give them a recap of the work he and Santana had done in the morning.

As Kurt was talking Santana noticed Brittany walking towards them, clipboard in hand. Santana felt the corners of her mouth tug up in a small smile.

"Jesse!" Brittany called as she walked over to the tent. She didn't know what Jesse was doing in this section. He was supposed to be off already. Brittany's attention was all on her boyfriend that she didn't even notice Santana there until she reached the group.

"Hey boss lady," Jesse said with a big smile as he reached to hug and kiss Brittany, "What's up?"

Santana's small smile disappeared.

"You're supposed to be off," Brittany said, her eyes quickly shifting to get a glimpse of Santana who seemed to look annoyed.

"I know but what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't help you till the end?" Jesse asked giving Brittany a kiss on the cheek.

Santana looked at the couple and just couldn't see how they could even be together. They looked so mismatched. This guy looked way too much like a conceited douche to be with someone like Brittany.

Whatever, Santana thought, Not my business.

"So can we go?" Santana asked, now just wanting to get out of here.

"Umm yeah," Brittany said, "Did..did you have any problems?"

"Nope," Santana simply said.

"We had six adoptions this morning," Kurt said.

"Awesome!" Brittany said, happy to hear the news.

"Do we need to sign out or something?" Santana asked, rolling her eyes, "I'd like to get out of here and salvage what's left of my day."

Brittany wondered why Santana was being mean now. It's like she was a different person than she was at the lecture and earlier in the cat tent.

"Umm, yeah," Brittany said, "Just stop by the main volunteer station and sign out. That way your department gets credit."

"Awesome," Santana said starting to walk away, "Come on Kurt, let's go!"

Kurt gave Brittany and Jesse an apologetic smile and followed Santana.

"What a bitch," Jesse said when they were gone, "I always heard Santana Lopez was a nightmare. I guess people were right."

Brittany didn't really know what to say so she just nodded.

###

Santana arrived at the main volunteer tent and signed out for the day, Kurt trailing behind.

"What the hell was that?" Kurt asked as he turned in his volunteer badge in to the girl behind the counter.

"What?" Santana asked.

"You were so rude," Kurt accused.

"No I wasn't," Santana said.

"Yes you were," Kurt said.

"I'm just tired from this heat," Santana said, "Let's just get out of here and into an air conditioned building."

"Fine," Kurt said sounding like he gave up trying to understand Santana.

"Thanks for volunteering," the girl behind the desk said, "I see that you're only singed up for today. The fair is happening tomorrow too. Would you like to sign up to help on tomorrow?"

No way was Santana doing this again, "No," she told the girl, "Count me out."

She began walking to the parking log, Kurt following.

-**tbc**-


	4. 50 Yard Line

**A/N: Thanks again for giving it a shot. Next update might be a bit longer wait. My computer is being a little bitch and I need to go in and get it fixed. ;)  
**

* * *

Santana had a pretty uneventful weekend. With football season over, she had a lot of her weekends free. After spending most of her Saturday morning surrounded by animals in the blazing heat, she decided to make the rest of her weekend full of indoor activities. She briefly considered going back to the adoption fair to volunteer again. But she didn't. She was also glad she had not gone camping with Kate and was actually glad to spend the weekend away from her.

Santana tried not to think of what it meant that she'd rather spend the weekend alone than with her girlfriend.

It was now Monday morning and she wasn't even sure if Kate would be back today. She headed to The Bean to get her morning coffee. As expected, Sam was there.

"Hey, vagina lips," Santana said sitting down across from him, "How was your weekend?"

"You have vagina lips too you know," Sam said.

Santana laughed.

"How was the pet fair?" Sam asked.

"OK," Santana said, her brain immediately reminding her of Brittany. She did wonder if the whole thing had been a success, "I did my shift and got the hell out of here."

"I was going to stop by," Sam said, "But it was just too damn hot."

Santana had met Sam her freshman year. He had tried to hit on her at a party and once Santana had set him straight, so to speak, he had been pretty embarrassed but cool about the whole thing. They had a few classes together and Santana found that she didn't totally hate him. Four years later and he was one of her closest friends along with Kurt and Tina.

"You made the right choice," Santana said, "Anyway, how's your helping people project coming along."

Sam had spent most of his college career unsure of what to do with his life but sometime during his junior year he decided to pursue a degree in psychology.

"Good," Sam said, "I'm really excited about it and I think it'll help some of the kids in the neighborhood."

"Awesome," Santana said.

The sound of a bell indicated that someone had entered The Bean. On reflex Santana looked up and saw that Brittany had entered. For almost four years she had not seen this girl on campus and all of a sudden she has seen her four times in the last few days.

Brittany entered The Bean and made a beeline for the counter. She rarely came here in the mornings but all these projects she had due were seriously cutting down on her sleep time that she started drinking coffee to stay awake. She yawned as she stepped up to the cashier.

Santana saw Brittany yawn and was starting to wonder if this girl ever slept.

"Oh there's the hot director," Sam said, "I wonder if she's single."

"She has a boyfriend," Santana said quickly. The last thing she wanted was for Sam to hit on Brittany.

"Figures," Sam said disappointed.

Brittany got her coffee and turned to search for a table when she caught Santana and some blond guy with giant lips looking at her. She felt like she was on display, which made her feel awkward.

Brittany smiled their way and turned to the right, heading to a table up against the wall, away from Santana and her friend. She wasn't sure if she liked or hated that she had run into Santana so much these past few days.

Santana saw Brittany sit down in a table across the room and take out some folders.

"Well that's rude," Santana said, "She could have at least said hello."

"Why?" Sam asked with a laugh, "Cause you're the campus celebrity everyone has to acknowledge your existence?"

"What? No, of course not," Santana protested, "But it's not like we're total strangers. We've officially met and talked a bit."

"When the hell did you officially met?" Sam asked, curious, "And why the hell did you not introduce me to her if you knew her."

"I met her at the lecture last week," Santana said, "And I told you she has a boyfriend so don't get any ideas."

"Hey, I'm just saying that I'm always up to meeting new people," Sam said defending himself, "I'm not always trying to get into girls' pants you know."

"Yeah, right," Santana said.

She didn't know why the idea of Sam wanting to hit on this girl bothered her. I just don't want him to be one of those jerks who hit on unavailable girls, she thought, Sam's better than that.

"She did smile at us," Sam said, "That was her hello. Besides look at her. She's got stack of folders in front of her, she's probably here to work and not socialize."

Santana glanced at Brittany and saw that she was once again engrossed in a pile of paperwork.

"Hmm," was all Santana said.

"Don't," Sam warned.

"What?" Santana asked innocently as she got up.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm just going to go say hi to Brittany," Santana said and left before Sam could say anything else.

Brittany read the first draft of the script for the recruitment video she was supposed to direct and produce for the athletic department. As she looked over the notes, she saw that the video was for the cheerleading squad and not the football team like she had first thought. Shit, she thought, that means she'd have to work with…

"Hey Brittany," Santana said standing by her table holding her coffee, "Is this seat taken?"

Before Brittany could answer, Santana had already sat down.

"Umm, hi," Brittany said unsure why Santana was here.

"How did the rest of the fair go?" Santana asked. She was surprised to find her self actually interested in the answer.

"Great," Brittany said in a slight shaky voice, "Lots of pets found homes."

"Great," Santana said a smile. Seeing Brittany again she felt the sudden need to apologize to her for being so rude at the fair, "Hey listen. I'm sorry about being such a bitch on Saturday."

"Oh you weren't," Brittany lied.

"Yes I was," Santana said with a small chuckle, "I get really grumpy when it's hot like that."

"It was pretty hot that day," Brittany said with a small smile.

"Yeah," Santana said, "Anyway, I'm sorry." She rarely apologized to anyone, and Santana wasn't sure if she was even doing it right.

Brittany looked at Santana and desperately wanted her to leave and stay at the same time.

After a few second of nothing but silence, Santana spoke again, "I talked to Susan and she's going to get her family to give the second grant to your department."

"Are you serious?" Brittany asked, surprised and excited.

"I told you I'd put in a good word," Santana said and took a sip of her coffee.

"Oh my God," Brittany said, letting our a relived laugh, "Thank you. Really, thanks a lot. I really thought I screwed that up."

"By falling asleep?" Santana asked, amused.

"Umm yeah," Brittany said embarrassed.

"Do you not sleep much?" Santana asked, "I mean, it's like every time I bump into you, you look like you'd rather be taking a nap."

Brittany let out a nervous chuckle, "I've just been really busy," she said, "I've got so much to do before I graduate that it's like sleep is the one thing I don't have time for."

"Like what?" Santana asked. She really wanted to know what could possibly be keeping this girl up at night.

"Oh, uh. Well, I've got two short movies I need to edit for my advanced film class. I've got to finish up the adoption fair stuff. Other videos and I have to write a 10 page English paper for American literature which I hate."

"What's wrong with literature?" Santana asked.

Brittany suddenly remembered reading that Santana was an English major and some sort of genius when it came English and literature. She felt like she had insulted her somehow.

"Oh, nothing," Brittany said, "It's fine. It's just not my thing. I'm just…not really good with literature. I've never been very good at it."

"It's just stories," Santana said, shrugging her shoulders, "It's not that hard."

Santana had come across people before who've said they had trouble with English and literature and she never understood why. Those were the two most interesting subjects in the world and Santana was always shocked others didn't feel the same.

"I'm just not very good," Brittany said, a bit embarrassed.

Santana felt like she had just punched the girl in the stomach or something. The look of defeat on Brittany's face made made Santana feel really guilty for some reason.

"It's OK," Santana said, trying to reassure her, "It's not for everyone. I mean, I'm sure I could never understand all the movie making stuff you do."

Brittany smiled, "It's just movies. It's not that hard," she said repeating Santana's words.

"Right," Santana said smiling.

Brittany was a bit confused about Santana. Last time she saw her she was bitchy and a little rude but now, now she was back to being polite and nice.

"So umm," Brittany said trying to avoid an awkward silence, "I just got a script for my next project and it's for the the cheerleading squad."

"It is?" Santana asked surprised, "I don't know anything about that."

"Oh, well. I"m supposed to direct a recruitment video for the cheerleaders. I'm supposed to start shooting some stuff later today. You didn't know?"

Santana shook her head. This was all news to her.

"I'm just wondering though," Brittany went on, "Aren't you holding auditions already? I mean why do you need a recruitment video if you're already picking replacements."

"Well, our current video is like four years old," Santana said, "I watched it when I first started. Guess it's just time for an update."

"Oh OK," Brittany said.

Santana got up. She needed to see Sue and ask her when she had been planning on telling her her squad was going to be filmed.

"I have to go," Santana said, "I have class and I wan to sort this filming thing. It would have been great if my coach had given me a heads up on being filmed today."

"Oh no," Brittany said, "I don't need to film your squad today. I was just going to get some shots of the field and the locker room. Just some B-roll."

"Oh," Santana said, "So you won't be needing me at all today?"

"Nope," Brittany said, "So don't worry. I'm not going to be bothering you today. You probably won't even see me."

Santana wasn't sure why, but she felt a bit of disappointment wash over her. She was sort of in the mood to be filmed today so it was probably the news she wouldn't be filmed that made her feel that way.

"Great," Santana said, "I'm super busy today so I really don't have time to pose for a camera."

"I'll call your coach and set up an appointment to film you and your squad," Brittany said, "On a day you're not so busy."

"Don't call Sue," Santana said, "Give me your phone."

Brittany slowly reached for her phone and handed it to Santana.

"I'm programming Kurt Hummel's number on your phone," Santana said typing at the keyboard not he screen, "He's the squad's assistant. He does all the appointments."

"Oh great," Brittany said. She reached out her hand to get her phone but Santana was still typing away.

"And my number," Santana said finishing up and handing Brittany her phone, "In case Kurt doesn't get back to you in time."

"Umm, OK," Brittany said, suddenly nervous.

"Alright, well," Santana said, "I'm out of here. You work too much. Next time I catch you in here I don't want to see you drowning in files for a third time. See you around Sleepy Girl."

"Bye," Brittany said softly.

Brittany watched Santana stop by the table where her friend still sat and talk to him for a bit. He got up and they both left the cafe.

Brittany wondered how Santana had known she had come here to work before.

She looked down at her phone and stared at the screen. She had Santana's number.

###

Santana sat in her advanced literature class listening to Professor Schuester discuss the latest story the class had read. This really was her favorite class and couldn't think of a better way to spend an hour than talking about books.

She'd always loved reading and was never embarrassed to show just how much of a book nerd she really was. Well, that was until she got to high school. In high school she had to hide her inner book nerd. She had been in the closet in more ways than one.

Even though she would be getting her undergraduate degree from this school soon, she wasn't going to leave when she did. She had already applied to ULA's graduate program for English and Literature and was sure to get in. If Santana had her way, she'd even get a job as a professor here as well.

Except for cheerleading, she really loved this school and knew that this was where she belonged.

Cheerleading.

Santana groaned. She was grateful the sport had paid for her undergrad education but she would be so happy when she could put it behind her. Thanks to her scholarship, she and her parents had been able to save up money to pay for graduate school. All the money she needed had sat in a money market account collecting interest for years.

After class, she went to see Sue and ask about the filming. She wasn't upset at finding out she'd be filmed, she had gotten used to being in the spotlight. She just hated being kept in the dark.

"Come in!" Sue said after Santana knocked on her door.

"Coach. Have a minute?" Santana asked coming into her office.

"What's up bookworm?" Sue asked.

"What's this I hear about a recruitment video?" Santana asked.

"Ah yes," Sue said, "I thought I told you?"

"No, you didn't."

"Well, we need a new vid," Sue said, "I want to put it online and run it over the summer because you know we'll be holding auditions again in the fall when some of these idiots on the squad now, suddenly lose interest."

"You'll be holding auditions," Santana corrected.

"Right," Sue said, "You're ditching me."

"I'm moving on," Santana said.

"Anyway," Sue continued, "Some Ron Howard type is supposed to film today. But I don't think he needs you or your squad."

"She," Santana corrected, "The director is a a she. Brittany S. Pierce."

"I couldn't care less," Sue said dismissing the information.

"She's supposed to be very good," Santana said, a bit irritated that Sue would dismiss Brittany so easily.

"Like I said," Sue went on, "I don't really care. I'm only using her because Dean Figgins made me. I wanted to use the budget for this project and hire a real Hollywood director."

"Fine," Santana said, rolling her eyes. She wasn't in the mood to deal with Sue anymore.

"I trust you'll hold this girl's hand through this?" Sue said, "I don't want her to film anything that may put our department in a bad light."

"I'll take care of it," Santana said.

Santana left Sue's office and wondered when Brittany would be here to do her filming.

###

Brittany sat in the film department's equipment room and inspected the camera she would be using to film the B-roll for the cheerleading video later. Despite the fact this video would take up a lot of her time, she was looking forward to doing it. Holly was right, she needed to expand her resume to include more than just documentaries. This video would only be about 10 minutes long and would probably consist of mostly highlights of the squad's best routines of the season.

She'd have to interview the coach, who Brittany heard was super scary, and the squad. That included Santana.

Brittany still couldn't believe Santana had talked to her at the cafe. For a second she had thought Santana wanted to discuss the video but she hadn't known anything about that. So why did Santana come and talk to me, she wondered, to apologize?

That apology had really surprised Brittany.

She thought she'd never interact with Santana again. But as it was turning out, every time she thought she had seen the last of Santana Lopez, she had been wrong.

"_Hola chica_," Holly greeted as she came into the room.

Brittany looked up and smiled when she saw Holly.

"_Hola_," Brittany said.

She looked behind Holly and saw that a girl with short blond hair was trailing behind her. Brittany had never seen this girl before.

"Britt," Holly said, "This is Quinn Fabray. Film school graduate as of this past winter. Quinn, this is my star student, Brittany S. Pierce."

"Hi," Quinn said.

"Hey," Brittany greeted back putting down her camera and going over to the new girl and shaking her hand, "Nice to meet you."

"Same," Quinn said with a big smile.

Brittany immediately liked her.

"Quinn graduated from our rival school, California University, this past winter," Holly explained, "I hired her for the rest of the school year to help me out."

"I lucked out," Quinn said, "I'm honored to get to be the assistant of the great Holly Holiday."

"Alright," Holly said rolling her eyes playfully, "You already got the job. No need to kiss ass."

Quinn and Brittany laughed.

"Quinn is also in the running for one of those spots in New York," Holly said.

"Oh, that's great," Brittany said, not sure if she should be happy or worried there was more competition for the studio job.

"Don't worry," Holly said as if reading her mind, "There will be five slots open come this summer so you both have a shot. No need to turn into bitter enemies."

"That won't happen," Quinn said smiling at Brittany.

"I hope you like it here," Brittany said shyly, the way Quinn was smiling at her made her blush a bit, "I'd be happy to show you around if you want."

"That'd be great," Quinn said, "I'm still not sure where anything is around here."

"OK, so," Holly said, "Quinn, your first official order of business in helping me out is to help Brittany with this cheer video."

"Sounds fun," Quinn said, sounding excited.

"Yeah," was all Brittany could say. Did Holly not think she could handle this on her own, she wondered.

Again, as if Holly had magical mind reading powers, she answered Brittany's silent question.

"Not that I don't think you got what it takes," Holly told Brittany, "You know I do. But you've got so much work on your schedule I don't want you to burn out. You're still in charge of this. Quinn is just going to help you lessen the load."

"Yeah," Quinn said, "I'm not looking to step on your toes, Brittany. You're the boss."

Brittany smiled, "Thanks. I'd love your help. I actually really do need it."

"_Fantastico_!" Holly said, "I'll leave you two to get chummy. _Hasta_!"

Holly turned and left the room but stopped at the door.

"Oh by the way," Holly said, "Just got a call from the Davidson Foundation. We got the money! Nice work Brittany."

"I didn't do anything," Brittany said. Even though she knew about the money already she still got excited when Holly told her the news.

"There you go again being modest," Holly said and left the room.

"But I really didn't do anything this time," Brittany said softly.

"She's quite a character," Quinn said with a chuckle.

"She's really fun and nice," Brittany said, "You'll love working with her."

"I think I will," Quinn said, "So Brittany, show me what you're up to with this video."

Quinn took a seat next to Brittany and Brittany went on to tell Quinn about the outline for the video. The more she talked with Quinn the more relaxed she became. She had always been shy around new people but she really felt at ease with Quinn. They were going to make a good team.

###

After seeing Sue, Santana went to another classes that took up the rest of her morning. She checked her phone to see if Brittany had called or texted about the filming. She hadn't.

Brittany did say that she would only be filming B-roll, whatever the hell that was, and wouldn't need any of the squad so she really shouldn't have expected Brittany to contact her. In fact, Brittany would probably contact Kurt first.

As she walked to the football field, she dialed Kurt's number.

"Well hello," Kurt said, "What a not so pleasant surprise."

"Gee thanks," Santana said, "Hey listen, did you get a call from some girl named Brittany Pierce?"

"Nope," Kurt said, "Why? Wait. Is she the one from breakfast the other day? The one Kate said she wanted to produce her acting video?"

"That's the one," Santana said.

"Why would she call me?"

"She's directing a new recruitment video for the squad," Santana explained, "She needs to set up an appointment to film the girls and probably interview them and me. And Sue. I gave her your number since you are the assistant."

"I wish you and Sue would tell me these things!" Kurt said sounding annoyed, "How am I supposed to assist if you don't tell me anything."

"I barely found out this morning," Santana said, defensively, "Sue apparently thinks we can read her mind and doesn't tell us anything."

"Fine," Kurt said letting out a breath, "Well, Brittany hasn't called me. I'll tell you when she does."

Santana had reached the football field and saw no one was there.

"Alright," Santana said, "I'll talk to you later."

Santana hung up and decided to just wait around. She needed to keep an eye on Brittany and make sure she presented the squad in a good light. The last thing she needed was Sue up her ass about the squad being filmed at a bad angle.

Since she wasn't sure when Brittany would be here, Santana went to the locker room to change into her university shorts and T-shirt. She might as well get in a good run around the track while she waited.

###

"Wow, you really have a lot on your plate," Quinn said.

Brittany had spent the last hour telling Quinn about her ideas for the recruitment video, her other projects, and showing her around the film department. Brittany had only known Quinn an hour but felt like she had known her for years. She was nice and had some of the loveliest and kindest eyes Brittany had ever seen.

After the tour, they had gone back to the camera room where they were packing up equipment to take to the football field to get the B-roll footage for the video.

"I know," Brittany said, "Sometimes my day is such a blur I can't even be sure if it really happened."

"I hear you," Quinn said with a sympathetic smile, "My senior year was so jammed packed that I had to take an extra semester just to get everything done. So I got a Winter graduation, which is not as exciting as a Spring one, but at least I got my degree."

"Film?" Brittany asked.

"B.A. in Film and Cinema Studies," Quinn said proudly, "I was naive to think I'd be working at a studio after graduation but working for Holly Holiday is the next best thing."

"You'll work at a studio one day," Brittany assured, "We both will."

"I hope I get that New York job," Quinn said, "I hope we both do."

"Me too," Brittany said.

"I like you Brittany," Quinn said with a sweet smile, "You're not only really talented but also sweet."

"Thanks," Brittany said looking down so Quinn wouldn't see the blush Brittany was sure was on her face, "I like you too. I'm glad you're not mean or super crazy."

Quinn laughed, "I'm pretty normal," she assured, "I may be a little obsessed with movies, but other than that, I'm good."

"Me too!" Brittany said getting a excited, "I love going to the movies. I once spent a whole day at the movies when the Nuart Theater showed all three Godfathers."

"Same here," Quinn said smiling, "But it was for a Marilyn Monroe movie marathon."

Brittany smiled. She and Quinn would definitely get along great.

"We should go see a movie someday," Quinn suggested, "Discuss filming techniques and put our film education to use."

"That'd be awesome," Brittany said, "Maybe next week?"

"Done," Quinn said.

Brittany felt like she could talk to Quinn forever and not run out of things to say.

"Umm," Brittany said shaking her head a bit, "We should probably go to the field. Get that footage while we can still get some good daylight."

"Yes," Quinn agreed, "Let's go. Lead the way boss."

They finished packing up their camera equipment and head to the field.

###

Santana was on her fifth lap, iPod blaring her latest favorite dance song. She loved running just as much as reading. Running allowed her to clear her head and relax her.

She was about to start her sixth lap when she spotted two figures coming on to the field, one carrying a black bag. Santana stopped, trying to calm her breathing, and waited for the two figures to reach her.

Brittany had played tour guide for Quinn as they walked through the campus and pointed out where things were.

"Your campus is a lot nicer than I thought," Quinn said, "I do still feel like some sort of traitor to my Alma Mater for even taking this job."

"We totally kicked your butt in football games," Brittany teased, "We're just better."

"Umm excuse me," Quinn said, playfully, "But last time I checked CU has a better record than ULA."

"Well, I don't know about records," Brittany said shrugging her shoulders, "Just that the games I went to where we played you, we won."

Quinn just chuckled and they kept on walking. Brittany noticed that there was a person on the field stretching. Once they got close enough, Brittany was able to see who it was.

"I wouldn't peg you for a football fan," Quinn said.

"I…I'm not really," Brittany said, her eyes on Santana who had now stopped stretching and just stood there with her hands on her hips, "Mercedes made me go when she was dating one of the players."

"Mercedes?

"Oh," Brittany said, realizing Quinn had no idea who Mercedes was, "My best friend. She's really cool. You should meet her."

"I'd like that," Quinn said.

Santana lifted the hem of her shirt up to her face to wipe off the sweat she felt dripping. She probably looked like a mess but there was really nothing she could do about it anyway.

Brittany lifted her hand and gave Santana a small wave. When they finally reached her, Santana smiled.

"Hey Brittany," Santana said, "Filming time?"

Brittany tried her best to keep her attention on the conversation and not stare at Santana who was flush and sweaty.

"Ummm, yeah," Brittany said, "It won't take too long. We'll stay out of your way and you can continue with your workout. It'll be like we're not even here."

"I'm done running," Santana said, even though she usually ran 10 laps, "I can help you and…sorry, who are you?"

Santana turned her attention to the other blond who she was sure she had never met.

"Hi, I'm Quinn," she said extending her hand, "I'm helping Brittany with the video."

Santana shook her hand.

"Oh sorry," Brittany said, embarrassed by her rudeness, "Yeah, this is Quinn. She's working in the film department for the rest of the semester and helping me out with some stuff."

"Great," Santana said with a smile.

"This is Santana Lopez," Brittany said, "Head Cheerleader for the squad."

"I've heard about you," Quinn told Santana, "Seen you on TV too. You're quite the local celebrity."

Fucking great, Santana thought. She hated when people knew who she was or heard things about her. Usually they had it all wrong.

"Well," Santana said letting out a breath, "Don't believe everything you hear and read."

"I don't," Quinn simply said.

Brittany felt like air around them had tensed up and wasn't sure why.

"We should get started," Brittany told Quinn, "We should shoot the field, the locker room, coach's office, and some of the equipment."

"I'll set up the camera," Quinn said leaning close and reached for the bag Brittany was carrying, "Meet you by the 50 yard line."

"Sure," Brittany said with a smile and watched Quinn leave.

Santana watch the exchange with a raised eyebrow. Something was going on there, maybe. She knew Brittany had a boyfriend but if college had taught Santana anything is that sexuality among people their age wasn't just black and white.

"How's your boyfriend?" Santana asked with a smirk.

"What?" Brittany asked, surprised at the question.

"That guy at the fair who was hugging and kissing you," Santana went on, "Unless you just let random strangers do that and call themselves your boyfriend."

"Umm no, that's crazy," Brittany said, "Why would I do that?"

Santana just shook her head, "So he is your boyfriend."

"Yeah," Brittany said not sure why Santana was even bringing him up.

"Just checking," Santana simply said.

Brittany felt like Santana was interrogating her. She didn't like that at all.

"Well," Santana said letting out a breath, "I'm going to take a quick shower and change. Then come back out here and watch you guys."

"Why?" Brittany asked.

"Coach Sylvester wants me to supervise you," Santana said, "Can't have the squad be painted in a bad light."

"I'm filming not painting," Brittany said, "And I'm not even filming the squad yet. I know what I'm doing."

"Whatever," Santana said, "I'll be back in 15 minutes. Don't start filming until I get back."

"Are you kidding?" Brittany asked. She couldn't believe Santana was giving her orders.

"Uh no," Santana said slowly, "I was told to watch you so that's what I'm going to do. If you have a problem with that take it up with Sue. But from what she told me, you weren't her first choice to do this video. So I'd be careful."

Brittany just listened to Santana talk, her mouth slightly agape in shock. Would the coach fire her if she didn't let Santana watch? She really wanted to do this video to show her range. Plus this was Quinn's fist assignment at this school and Brittany didn't want to mess this up for her either.

"Fine," Brittany finally said, "We'll set up and wait for you by the 50 yard line."

"Awesome," Santana said with a slight edge in her voice, "Be back in a flash."

Brittany watched Santana run into the locker room. She wondered why Santana was being mean again.

Santana got to the locker room and got undressed at record speeds. She wanted to get back out on the field as soon as possible. She knew she was being kind of a bitch just now but she wasn't sure why. Granted, she was a bitchy person sometimes, but people usually had to do something to deserve that attitude. Brittany hadn't done anything.

Just like she said, in 15 minutes she was done and headed to the 50 yard line where she saw Quinn and Brittany laughing at something.

"OK!" Santana said, "I'm ready. Let's do this!"

The three spent the rest of the afternoon filming. Or at least Quinn and Brittany did. Santana just watched.

###

"You're working with Santana Lopez?" Mercedes asked, not hiding the surprise from her voice, "Santana? The girl you've been drooling over for the past two years."

Brittany sighed. She and Mercedes where at Brittany's apartment watching movies. They did that every week and made sure to make time to see each other. Mercedes was a music major and hoped to work at a record label after graduation. Mercedes knew all about Brittany's crush and never missed a chance to tease her about it.

"I wasn't drooling," Brittany said, "It was just a little harmless crush. Like you have on Channing Tatum. Same thing."

"Uh no, girl," Mercedes said with a laugh, "I'm not working with Channing Tatum in the music department. And I think he's married."

"So's Santana," Brittany said quickly, "Well, no she isn't. But she's dating that drama major, Kate Dawson."

"Ugh, I heard about her," Mercedes said with a disgusted face, "Total Diva and not in a good way."

"Really?" Brittany asked surprised. For some reason she couldn't picture Santana putting up with a Diva, "I met her a few times. She was nice to me."

"My friend Rachel Berry," Mercedes said, "You met her remember? She and I did that duet for that play you fell asleep at."

"I didn't fall asleep!" Brittany protested, "I mean, not for your parts. I saw those and that's all that counts really. But yes, I remember Rachel. Please continue."

"Anyway," Mercedes said with a small laugh, "She told me she had to work with Kate on a production once and she was acting like she was some big shot actress like Charlize Theron or something. Demanding this and that. Everyone hates her. Well, everyone that has to work with her. She seems to have lots of friends so maybe she's different in social circles."

Brittany was trying to process the information Mercedes was giving her. She didn't really know Santana. All she knew came from what others said and what she had seen personally and Santana did not seem like the type to be with someone like Kate.

Santana had watched her and Quinn film without saying much. Occasionally she'd ask what was being filmed, but for the most part she just kept a watchful eye like she said she would. Brittany didn't understand why she was even there. They were just getting shots of objects and places.

"Hmm," was all Brittany said.

"Girl, I really wish you'd just stop with this crush on the mean cheerleader," Mercedes said, "Find a nicer girl or guy to crush on."

"Well…."

"Actually," Mercedes interrupted, "Why are you still even with Jesse? I mean I know you've been itching to get out of that. And the fact your eyes are wandering to other warm bodies, that should tell you something."

"Don't start with that again," Brittany said almost exasperated, "I told you he's nice. He likes me and I like him."

"That's great for a friend," Mercedes said, "Not a boyfriend."

"I feel comfortable with him," Brittany said softly.

"I know you do," Mercedes said, "I know how you are with meeting new people. And I just think you're just staying with Jesse cause the idea of meeting someone new is scary."

Brittany looked down at her hands. Mercedes was right. She was only with Jesse because the idea of meeting someone new was a bit scary. The frustrating thing was that once she got to know someone she was relaxed and fun. But that usually took a bit of time after meeting them. Except maybe with Quinn. Meeting Quinn had been super easy and not awkward at all.

"OK," Brittany said, "I'll consider talking to Jesse. I kind of think he's probably still with me for the same reason. And I'll stop this crush thing with Santana. It'll be like flipping a switch."

"It better be," Mercedes said.

Brittany hoped it would be.

"So, anyway," Brittany said, "I meet a new friend today."

"You did?" Mercedes asked smiling.

"Yup," Brittany said, "Her name is Quinn and she's Holly's new assistant. We made plans to go to the movies next week. Wanna come?"

"Yeah," Mercedes said, "That sounds like fun. I'm just excited you met someone new and are already hanging out with them."

"I like her," Brittany said, "She's really nice. You'll like her too."

"I'm sure I will," Mercedes said.

###

Santana typed four more words and she was done. Her latest 15 page English term paper was done a week before it was due. She saved her work and made a note to look over her final product tomorrow. Santana was sure she was the only person in the whole school who finished English papers a week or more before they were due.

She got up from her desk and went over to the couch to lie down and watch some TV. Just as she was getting comfortable and that angry chef on TV was really yelling at some other cook, her phone rang.

"Damn it," Santana said. She reluctantly got up and went to her desk to get her phone. When she saw who it was she sighed.

"Hey," Santana said a bit too high pitched, "How was your camping trip?"

"Great," Kate said, "It would have been better with you there."

Santana lay back down on the coach, "I wish I could have gone," Santana lied, "But I just couldn't get out of this adoption thing."

"That woman is a monster," Kate said, "I'm sorry you had such an awful weekend."

"Thanks," Santana said with a small smile. It really wasn't that awful but she was touched that Kate seemed to care about how she spent her time.

"How was school today?" Kate asked.

"Good," Santana said, "Oh, umm, we're filming a recruitment video for the squad."

"You are?" Kate asked, "Do you need any onscreen talent? I'd be more than happy to donate my time. And I can add it to my reel!"

"Uh no," Santana said, "Brittany just needs the squad. She says…"

"Brittany?" Kate interrupted, "Brittany S. Pierce?"

Shit, Santana thought.

"Yeah," Santana admitted. She had completely forgotten about Kate wanting Brittany to do a video for her.

"That's great!" Kate said, enthusiastically, "When are you going to see her? I want to be there so I can talk to her. I keep leaving her messages at the film department but she never gets back to me."

"Umm, she's pretty swamped Kate," Santana said, wishing she had never mentioned Brittany's name. Brittany had said she was already losing sleep because she had so much work. The last thing Santana wanted was for the sleepy girl to add yet another project to her time.

Brittany could just refuse, but Santana knew Kate. Kate wouldn't stop until Brittany said yes. It was a miracle Kate hadn't stalked Brittany already.

"I'm giving her all the footage," Kate insisted, "And maybe she'll need to get a few new shots of me, but all she'd really have to do is edit. That's probably really easy. And I'd pay her!"

Santana thought back to that one time she needed to photoshop a picture for a project. It had taken her hours. Who knew one fucking picture would take so much time to fix. If a damn photo took hours, Santana couldn't even imagine how long editing a video would be.

"I don't know when I'll see her Kate," Santana said truthfully, "When she makes an appointment to film the squad, I'll tell you."

"You better!" Kate said, "OK I'm going put together all my footage. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Sure," Santana said, pinching the bring of her nose.

"And we need a date night," Kate said playfully, "It's been way too long."

Santana let out a breath. It had been a while. She knew she should spend more time with her girlfriend. Since coming out Santana has slept with many girls but had only had two girlfriends. Kate being one of the two. Her first girlfriend had last for only two months. Kate was going on four months. The relationship had started on being mostly based on sex. And it still as for the majority but somewhere along the way she did start to care about Kate.

While Santana knew Kate wasn't anything serious, she was proud that she had at least been in a relationship with someone twice as long as the first time. She was also starting to see she was kind of being a shitty girlfriend to Kate.

"Why don't you sleep over tomorrow night?" Santana asked.

"I was planning on it," Kate said, her voice soft.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Santana said and hung up.

She turned her attention to the angry chef on the TV. He was now throwing food across the room.

-**tbc**-


	5. Table for Three

**A/N: Thanks to the reader who noted the typos last chap. All fixed. ;) This story may turn out to be a long one and not as fluffy as the other ones I've written. Want to try something different so hopefully you'll hang in there:)**

* * *

Santana sat in one of those director chairs in front of a mirror while some girl powdered her face. She moved a little and looked over at the makeshift stage to her right. She was about to be interviewed for the school station. Again.

It's been a week and Santana was still waiting for Brittany to make an appointment to film her and her squad. She was getting impatient. She wanted to get this filming over with so she could put it behind her. That recruitment video would be the last publicity she'd have to do for the squad.

It had also been a week of Kate constantly bugging her about when she'd be seeing Brittany. Santana had gotten so frustrated with Kate bugging her that she had even gone to the film department in search of the would be director but could not find her. Santana figured she was probably asleep somewhere.

She made a mental note to get Brittany's phone number next time she saw her. Just for situations like this.

Santana sighed and fidgeted in the makeup chair.

This would be her 16th appearance since becoming head cheerleader. She had been booked by the show's host, Sugar Motta, to talk about the auditions for the new cheerleaders and how Santana felt about leaving the squad.

Santana took a deep breath.

"All done," the girl said, "Aren't' you going to miss this? All the attention and being on TV?"

"No," Santana simply said, got up and left.

She went over to the small refrigerator up against a far wall and grabbed a water. She suddenly felt incredibly thirsty. Last interview, she thought. Santana wasn't sure how real celebrities actually dealt this this shit. Here she was just the campus "famous" person and she could barely tolerate the whole thing.

"Santana!"

Santana swallowed the water in her mouth, "Hey Sugar."

Santana had met Sugar during Sophomore year when she had been booked on the campus talk show for the first time. Sugar was just a production assistant back then but when the then host had graduated, Sugar had managed to replace her. Santana liked Sugar. In small doses.

"You ready for your last TV spot?" Sugar asked.

"You make it sound like the whole country is watching this," Santana said, "It's only being broadcast within a 5 mile radius."

"Excuse you," Sugar said, "But what year do you think this is? My little show is online. Anyone, anywhere can watch it."

Santana scoffed, "Yeah, I'm sure the whole world is clicking on the ULA media site to watch this."

"You never know," Sugar said, "OK, so you're a regular pro at this. Don't need to tell you what's going on."

"Nope," Santana said, "Let's do this."

Santana followed Sugar to the stage and got ready for her last interview.

###

Brittany felt like a giant rock had been lifted off her back. She was done with her two film projects for her class. Normally she would love doing those projects but with the adoption fair, the cheer video and her not yet written English paper also on her back, she hadn't enjoyed her film projects like she usually did.

Two things had freed up her time enough to allow her to finish her film projects. Quinn and Sue Sylvester.

Quinn had offered to edit the footage they shot on the field and had done a great job. Brittany had found out that she and Quinn had pretty similar styles and Brittany found herself agreeing with a lot of her suggestions. Holly assigning Quinn to help her out had been one of the best things to happen to her this semester.

One of the worst things had been running into Sue Sylvester one day in the quad.

"Hey you! Tim Burton!" Sue had called out.

Brittany hadn't been sure who had shouted, but when she heard the name of one of her favorite filmmakers, she had looked up. That's when she had seen Sue Sylvester practically stomping towards her.

Brittany was sure her eyes had almost popped out of her sockets out of fear.

"Listen up Blond Ambition," Sue had said, "You're the one filming my video right?"

Brittany had just nodded.

"I did a background check on you when I found out our name. Had to make sure you knew what you were doing."

"I do," Brittany had said softly. This lady really was super scary just like everyone had said.

"Saw some of your short movies," Sue had told her, "Nice work. You actually have some talent."

Brittany was sure she had smiled.

"So listen up," Sue had gone on, "Your filming the squad and me will have to be pushed back a week. I'm menstruating and bloated like a whale and I cannot be filmed now."

Brittany had been confused. Sue looked way old. Like Grandma Pierce old and she was sure grandmas that old didn't get their periods anymore. But she said nothing.

"Umm, sure," Brittany had told her, "I'll start next week. Umm, I'll…I'll make an appointment with Kurt."

"Don't bother," Sue had told her, her hand now on her stomach, "Ugh, cramps! Anyway, I'm about to go see Porcelain now. I'll tell him. I'll have him call you with a date."

"Yeah, OK."

That had been last Tuesday. Brittany still hadn't gotten a call from Kurt or whoever the hell Porcelain was. She didn't mind though. The extra free time had been just what she needed. She had even gotten able to sleep in a couple of days.

"Are you all done?" Quinn asked coming into the editing room where Brittany had spent the last two hours retouching some shots for her projects.

"Yup!" Brittany clicked the eject button and took out the DVD from the computer, "Now I just have to go by Holly's office and turn this in and I'm free!"

"That's great," Quinn said with a laugh.

"Thank you so much for editing the field footage, Quinn," Brittany said taking the DVD and putting it in her bag, "You totally saved me."

Quinn shrugged her shoulders, "Just doing my job."

"Still," Brittany said looking at Quinn, "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"As a thank you," Brittany said standing up and grabbing her bag, "I'm buy you lunch. Or dinner. Or a chocolate shake!"

Quinn laughed, "That's not necessary, Brittany. I'm getting paid to do this."

"OK, well," Brittany said, "Let's make it a 'Welcome to ULA' gift then."

Maybe it was the extra sleep but Brittany was surprised at how friendly she was being with Quinn. There was no awkwardness, no shyness. It was a great feeling being with relaxed around someone new.

"Fine," Quinn said, her cheeks with a slight trace of a blush, "How about we get something to eat when we go see that movie."

"Oh for sure!" Wanna go tonight?"

"Sounds great," Quinn said, smiling.

"Oh!" Brittany suddenly remembered, "I invited my friend Mercedes. I hope that's OK?"

The smile on Quinn's face seemed to falter a bit, but only for a split second, then it was back, "Your best friend right?"

"Yeah," Brittany said stepping closer to Quinn, "I told her about you and she wants to meet you. Actually I want you two to meet. It'll be fun. Like the Three Musketeers."

"That's sounds great, Brittany. I'd love to meet Mercedes."

"Awesome!" Brittany said, surprising herself when she suddenly gave Quinn a quick hug. She let go before Quinn could even hug back, "I'll call Mercedes and tell her. She usually has nothing to do Tuesday nights so it should be cool. I'll call you with the details."

"Can't wait," Quinn said.

Brittany gave Quinn one last smile and left for Holly's office to turn in her projects.

###

Sugar turned to the camera and closed the show. Santana just sat there with a practiced smile on her face. Once the red light of the camera went out, so did her smile.

"That was great," Sugar said wistfully, "I'm going to miss this stupid little show."

"You still have a couple of months," Santana said as she and Sugar walked off the stage.

"I do," Sugar said, "Being host was fantastic cause I got to confirm that I'm way more awesome that most of this school…"

Santana rolled her eyes.

"But now that I'm graduating I fell like I have to start all over," Sugar finished.

"We all do," Santana said, "And besides, you're not even interested in being a TV host."

"It was still fun."

Sugar was majoring in Public Relations and event planning or something, Santana couldn't remember what. Sugar had been tapped to plan a lot of the squad's and football team's parties and other events. She was very good. Santana was sure that if anyone could make party planning into a successful career, it would be Sugar.

"Hey," Sugar said, "Wanna hang out tonight? I feel like I haven't seen you in ages."

"Uh, maybe."

"And Kate too. I haven't seen her that much either. Oh! We could double date! I'll brink Puck."

Santana inwardly groaned. She wasn't a big fan of double dates. Especially not with Sugar and her boyfriend Noah Puckerman. They were both such party animals they made Lindsay Lohan look like an amateur. But they were good people and Santana did consider them friends.

"Sure," Santana said giving in, "I'll call Kate."

"Woot!" Sugar said, "Alright I'll leave you to go read a book or something. I'm waiting on…oh, well speak of the Devil."

Santana followed Sugar's line of sight and saw a girl she sort of recognized. She vaguely remembered her dating one of the football players but Santana couldn't remember if she had actually met her.

"Mercedes!" Sugar called.

"'Sup girl!" Mercedes said giving Sugar a hug.

Santana smiled at this girl named Mercedes still trying to place her.

"Santana Lopez," Mercedes said with a smile.

"Oh, uh, hi…Mercedes," Santana said pretending she knew her.

"Hey," Mercedes said, "We've never met. Not officially. I dated Matt Jackson up until last year. You may have seen me at a few football parties."

"Oh right!" Santana said, now remembering, "Matt. You're the music major."

"That's me," Mercedes said proudly.

"How are you?" Santana asked even though she didn't really care all that much.

"Fine. I hear you're working with my girl Brittany."

Santana saw Sugar almost jump at the mention of Brittany's name, "Oh man Brittany! I still have that small camera she let me borrow last week."

"Uh yeah you do," Mercedes said, "Britt doesn't like violence, but if you don't give her back that camera today, she will gut you."

"Alright, alright," Sugar said waving her hand.

Santana just watched them. First she finds out Kate knew who Brittany was. Now Sugar. And apparently Sugar was also friends with Mercedes who considered Brittany "her girl".

"You're friends with Brittany Pierce?" Santana asked.

"That's my girl," Mercedes said, "Best friend since Freshman year, day one. Anyway, so how come you guys haven't told her to start filming yet?"

"What?" Santana asked confused, "She hasn't contacted us. We've been waiting all week to set up a date for this filming but she hasn't called."

"That's not what she says," Mercedes said, sounding a bit defensive for her friend, "Your coach postponed the filming a for the week. She said you guys would call Brittany."

Santana shook her head trying to remember if Sue had said anything. Of course this being Sue, she probably didn't say anything at all.

A phone rang.

"Oh, her ears must have been burning," Mercedes said as she answered her phone, "Hey Britt. We were just talking about you."

Santana snapped her attention to Mercedes. She needed to talk to Brittany to sort this mess out.

"Can I talk to her?" Santana asked.

Mercedes gave Santana a look like she couldn't believe she had just been asked that question.

"Umm Britt," Mercedes said into the phone, "Santana Lopez wants to talk to you…..yeah in front of me….I'm with Sugar at the station…I don't know…hold on…"

Santana took the phone Mercedes was offering, "Hello Brittany."

Brittany was not prepared to talk to Santana at all. In fact she hadn't really thought about the cheerleader for the last couple of days and now here she was talking to her. She took a deep breath.

"Hi Santana."

"What's this I hear about our coach telling you to postpone the filming?" Santana asked.

"She didn't tell you?" Brittany asked surprised.

"Obviously not or I wouldn't be asking," Santana said with a bit of frustration in her voice. She looked up to see Mercedes giving her what could only be described as a death glare. Santana looked away.

"Oh, right, umm sorry," Brittany stammered a bit. She really didn't like mean Santana and the last thing she wanted was to deal with her again, "Your coach was supposed to talk to someone named, uh, Porcelain or something and have him or her call me with a date."

Santana heard the timid voice of Brittany explain what happened and felt horrible for her snappy sarcastic remark. She wanted to apologize but didn't. She wasn't about to apologize in front of an audience.

"Oh, OK," Santana said, her voice a bit more gentle, "Porcelain is Kurt. Sue just calls him that." Santana looked to see Mercedes still giving her the evil eye and moved away from her and Sugar a bit.

"That makes more sense. I'll call him now then? I really want to shoot this and get it over with."

"Me too," Santana said, "The squad meets tomorrow afternoon and Sue will be there as well. Come to the field around two."

"I don't have to go through Kurt?" Brittany asked.

"No," Santana said, "I'll take care of gathering everyone. You just show up with your camera."

"OK," Brittany said, "I'll be there."

Brittany wanted to hang up. Badly. She was finding it very difficult to figure out Santana. This is why I don't like meeting new people, she thought.

Santana took another step away from Mercedes and Sugar who were trying desperately to pretend to not be trying to hear her end of the conversation. They were failing.

"Listen Brittany," Santana said softly, "I'm…I'm sorry for being an ass when you asked if I knew. This is just a miscommunication and it's all Sue's fault for not tell us anything."

This is the Santana Brittany liked. She found herself smiling a little at the gentleness in Santana's voice, "It's OK."

"No it's not," Santana said, "I'm just…this video is the last publicity I'll have to do for the squad and…I just want to get it over with."

Brittany always thought Santana loved being in the spotlight. All the games and videos she had seen Santana in had shown her to be really excited and energetic. Like she loved it. Now listening to Santana, Brittany wondered if she really didn't like it as much as she let on.

"Tomorrow," Brittany said, "I'll probably need to film the squad more on another day, but I'll film all your stuff tomorrow. That way you can be done with it."

"Thanks," Santana said letting out a relieved sigh, "I'd like that."

"No problem," Brittany said.

"_Ahem_!"

Santana turned around and saw Mercedes, still with her death glare, motioning for Santana to give her back her phone. Without realizing it, Santana had managed to walk almost 10 feet way from Sugar and Mercedes.

"Your friend Mercedes is giving me the evil eye. I think she wants her phone back."

Brittany let out a chuckle, "Yeah, don't make her mad. She can be scary too. Maybe even scarier than you."

"You think I'm scary?" Santana asked, a bit of sadness in her voice. She was scary to many people, but she didn't want to seem scary to Brittany.

"Can I get my phone back?" Mercedes asked, impatient.

"You better give her back the phone," Brittany said not wanting to answer the question. She was afraid if she did tell Santana she thought she was scary, she'd be mean again.

"Yeah, right," Santana said walking over to Mercedes, "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"See you tomorrow," Brittany said.

"Oh! Wait," Santana said, "Give me your number."

Brittany felt like someone had put one of those heart starter machines on her chest and hit the button. Her heartbeat sped up like crazy.

"My number?"

"Yeah," Santana said, "In case there's a change with the time tomorrow."

"Oh right," Brittany said shaking her head, "Right. Yeah, I'll text you and that way you can have my number."

"Great," Santana said, "OK, see ya."

Santana handed back the phone to a angry looking Mercedes.

"You OK?" Mercedes asked into the phone her eyes never leaving Santana. Not many people could make Santana fidget, but this Mercedes girl could.

"OK good," Mercedes went on, "Yeah I'm free…Oh great, yeah I'm up for a movie…I can't wait to meet Quinn…sure…OK later girl."

Santana listened to Mercedes talk. So now Brittany and Quinn were already hanging out and going to movies together.

After Mercedes hung up she turned her attention to Santana, "Listen, Santana. I don't care who you are. If you make this filming a nightmare for Brittany I'm going to break you."

"Excuse me?" Santana asked almost with a laugh.

"She's a sweet girl," Mercedes went on, "Just let her do her thing and she'll be out of your life in a day or two," Mercedes turned to Sugar, "I'll meet you at the sound both OK?"

Mercedes walked away before Santana could say anything.

"I keep telling you to be nice to people," Sugar said shaking her head, "I gotta go. I'll call you about tonight."

Santana watched Sugar leave and wondered what the hell had just happened.

###

"Are you sure this is the right address?" Mercedes asked from the driver's seat.

"Yes," Brittany said, "Quinn lives…oh right there in that brown building. There she is on the curb. Pull over!"

Brittany was really looking forward to this night out with Mercedes and Quinn. It had been ages since she's gone out on a 'girl's night out' and she missed it. Jesse had invited her to a party but she wasn't in the mood for a one and told him that she'd already made plans. He had even suggested that she bring Quinn and Mercedes to the party, but Brittany still had said no.

Brittany knew Mercedes was right. She needed to talk to Jesse about their relationship. She had almost said something last night when he had slept over, but she didn't. She really did like Jesse and didn't want to lose him as a friend.

"Hi!" Quinn said getting into the backseat, "Thanks for picking me up."

"No problem," Brittany said turning her body look at Quinn in the backseat, "Quinn this is my best friend Mercedes. Mercedes this is Quinn."

"Nice to meet you," Quinn said.

"You too!" Mercedes said, "Brittany won't shut up about you."

Brittany wanted to crawl under her seat and just melt into the floor.

"Same," Quinn said smiling and looking at Brittany, "She keeps talking about you too."

"All good things, I promise," Brittany said softly still looking at Quinn, "You look really nice."

And she did. Quinn was wearing a purple top, fitted jeans and sandals. She looked casual but fancy all at the same time.

"Thanks Britt," Quinn said, "You look nice too. I like your unicorn tie."

"Thanks," Brittany said taking it in her hand and holding it out a bit, "I've got a duck tie too. I like ties with animals on them."

"It's very cute," Quinn said, "And we kinda match."

Brittany had opted to wear black shorts, black boots, knee high socks and a silver blouse. But it had felt too boring so she decided to put on her purple unicorn tie.

"How do I look?" Mercedes asked suddenly.

Brittany turned around back in her seat and looked at Mercedes, "I told you you looked nice when you picked me up."

"Still," Mercedes said merging into traffic, "I just wanted to make sure you two didn't forget I was here."

Brittany heard Quinn chuckle in the back seat.

"Anyway, what's this movie we're seeing again?" Mercedes asked.

"Yeah Brittany," Quinn said, "You never did tell me what movie we were seeing."

"Bonnie and Clyde!" Brittany said with a big smile, "They're showing it only for a week at The Plaza."

"Oh that's a good one!" Quinn said.

"Wait, hold up," Mercedes said, "Are we seeing some old ass movie from like the 70s?"

"It's good Mercedes," Brittany assured, "You'll like it. I promise."

"Humph," Mercedes huffed.

"But first," Brittany said, "We eat. I'm starving and I promised Quinn a 'Welcome to ULA dinner'."

"You really don't have to do that Britt," Quinn said.

"I do," Brittany insisted, "And it's also a 'sorry I'm making you watch and old ass movie' dinner for Mercedes."

"You're so silly," Mercedes said with a laugh.

Brittany smiled because she knew Mercedes wasn't upset about the movie.

"So," Mercedes said coming to a stop at a light, "You guys all ready to film the mean cheerleaders tomorrow?"

"Are they all mean?" Quinn asked, "Santana Lopez just seemed like she was annoyed the whole time we were filming the B-roll last week."

"She can be nice," Brittany said as she played with her hands, "Maybe she's just stressed. Maybe that's what makes her mean."

"I don't know," Mercedes said, "When I was dating Matt we hung out the same circles and she wasn't that nice. Always snapping at someone."

"I heard she's like a super book nerd," Quinn said, "Is that true?"

"Yeah," Mercedes said, "Weird right?"

"A little," Quinn said.

"Britt," Mercedes said, "If she gives you any trouble let me know. I'll take care of it. I already warned her."

"You did what?" Brittany asked mortified at what Mercedes said.

"She was so rude to you on the phone!" Mercedes said, now entering the parking lot of the town center, "And it wasn't even your fault. Just, don't let her walk all over you."

"I can't believe you did that," Brittany said slumping in her chair. Was that why Santana had apologized, she wondered, because Mercedes made her.

"I'm just looking out for you," Mercedes said, "She'll probable make this a nightmare."

"She won't," Brittany said, "I told her we'd film all her stuff tomorrow so she wouldn't have to be part of the video any more than she has to."

"Everything will be fine," Quinn said, "We'll finish the video and it'll be over before you know it."

Brittany didn't say anything. Santana was mean. But she was also nice sometimes. It was so confusing.

For over two years, Santana had been nothing but a figure that wasn't really real. Brittany had a certain perception of her. One of her being fun, happy, engaging and loving the spotlight. All of which made it easy for Brittany to crush on her. Now that she had gotten a chance to actually interact with her, Brittany was finding out that she had been wrong about Santana.

The girl she had had a crush on didn't exist. She was just a persona on TV, posters and games. Brittany had no idea who Santana Lopez really was.

###

Santana squeezed Kate's hand and they walked through the The Plaza on their way to dinner. Sugar, the planner that she is, had suggested they all head over to Breadstix for dinner and then either go to a movie or to a bar. Puck had laughed at the idea of a movie and had decided for everyone they'd got to the bar here at The Plaza after dinner. Santana didn't argue. She really could use a drink. One of the perks of being 21 now was that she could do away with her fake I.D.

"I saw you on TV," Kate said bringing Santana's hand to her lips and kissing it," You looked amazing!"

"Thanks," Santana said with a smile.

It was times like this when she liked being with Kate. When she was supportive and sweet and not trying to use their relationship to climb the ULA social ladder, which Kate had done a lot in the beginning. Now however, Kate seemed to want to be with her for her and not for her status. At least that's what Santana hoped.

"Alright ladies," Puck said, "Let's get some food!"

Puck and Sugar who had been walking a little ahead of Santana and Kate and reached the entrance of Breadstix first. Puck opened the door.

"Hey! Look who it is!" Sugar said running into the restaurant.

Santana was still behind and couldn't see who Sugar was talking about but apparently Kate did see who it was.

"Oh great, there's Brittany!" Kate said letting go of Santana's hand and quickly running inside the restaurant.

Santana wasn't sure why she suddenly felt a tingle of nerves hit her as she caught up and passed through the doors.

Brittany felt like she had been ambushed. One second she's talking to Quinn and Mercedes about what dessert they'd all share and the next Sugar was coming through the door and hugged her and Mercedes at the same time.

"Umph!" Brittany huffed bracing herself so she wouldn't tip over from Sugar's weight.

"Damn Sugar get off," Mercedes said with a light laugh, "You'll knock us over!"

"Sorry," Sugar said, "I'm just glad to see you guys," she turned to Brittany, "Did Mercedes give you your camera? Sorry I kept it so long."

"Umm, yeah," Brittany said, "I got it thanks."

Brittany liked Sugar but sometimes she was way too friendly and excited about everything. Brittany was about to introduce Sugar to Quinn when she heard her name being called.

"Brittany!"

Brittany looked at the open front door and saw Kate Dawson. Santana's actress girlfriend. If Kate was here then Brittany figured Santana was here too. Brittany suddenly wanted to run away, which was silly because she'd have to see Santana tomorrow anyway.

"Umm hi," Brittany said. She and Kate had meet a couple of times and both times had been short interactions but Kate was looking at her like they were old friends.

"You're a hard woman to get a hold of," Kate said with a big smile.

"She's very busy," Santana said stepping into the restaurant and seeing not only Brittany, but Quinn and Mercedes as well. This must be the movie date she had heard begin planned over the phone.

Santana tried to suppress a smile from forming when she saw that Brittany was once again wearing a tie. This time with unicorns on it. She found Brittany's whole outfit cute which was strange since Santana was never one to Tim Gunn anyone's outfit. Those shorts really were flattering on the film major.

Brittany looked behind Kate to see Santana walking into Breadstix with what looked like a small smirk on her face. Santana looked like she was dressed to go out to some fancy restaurant with her tight white skirt and black blouse. Her makeup was flawless. In all, Brittany thought she looked gorgeous.

"Yeah..yeah," Brittany said, "I'm swamped."

"Of course you are," Kate said sympathetically, "I'm sure you've got lots to do. Like the cheer video."

Brittany nodded.

"Anyway," Kate went on, "I've been leaving you messages at the film department. Did you get any of those?"

Brittany rarely checked the student mailbox she had in the film department's offices. She couldn't even remember the last time she checked that thing.

"Oh, umm," Brittany said, "I don't check that. Not really. Why..why are you looking for me?"

"Kate," Santana said, "Maybe now isn't the time."

"Time for what?" Mercedes asked, her eyes glued on Kate.

"Well," Kate said, "I was hoping to hire you Brittany. To film a video for me."

"What kind of video?" Brittany asked.

"Of my acting," Kate said proudly, "I want to get a compilation of all my work so I can show casting directors."

Brittany heard Mercedes let out a breath.

Santana just shook her head. She hated when Kate turned into "Kate The Actress" when they were out. This was not the time to bug Brittany about this.

"Kate," Santana warned.

"I'll pay you of course," Kate told Brittany, ignoring Santana.

Brittany felt like she should just say yes to get Kate to leave her alone. She looked back and forth from Santana and Kate. They really did make a beautiful couple she thought. Both Kate and Santana had a beauty that was made to be seen on the screen. Brittany thought they had charisma and sex appeal. The perfect couple.

_"Brittany. Table for three!"_

"That's us!" Mercedes said grabbing Brittany's arm and pulling her slightly.

"Maybe we can all sit together!" Kate suggested.

Santana let out a breath, "They already have their table," she said, "We'd just be making them wait longer for a bigger table."

Santana knew how Kate could get and she wanted to save Brittany the hassle of dealing with "Kate The Actress" during her dinner.

It was at this point Quinn spoke up, "Kate? Look our table is ready," Quinn said as she reached into her purse and took out a business card to give to Kate, "Call me tomorrow and we'll set something up for you to talk to Brittany about this video you want."

Brittany looked at Quinn and mentally thanked her for saving her from Kate.

"I'm sorry," Kate said a bit in disbelief, "Who are you?"

"Quinn Fabray," Quinn said, "Assistant to Holly Holiday and sometimes Brittany here."

"Nice," Puck said, who up until now had remained silent, "Hot chick assisting another hot chick."

Sugar punched him in the arm.

Santana rolled her eyes watching Quinn try to play the hero for Brittany who did look like she wanted nothing more than to end this conversation.

Brittany grabbed Quinn's arm, "Call Quinn. Or Santana has my number so I guess you can get that from her."

"Let's go," Mercedes said pulling Brittany and now Quinn to the dinning room and to their table. She called out to the two couples, "Bye guys. See you around school."

Brittany let herself be lead by Mercedes. She chanced a look at Santana, who was following her every move as she walked away. Santana just gave her a small smile.

"You have her number?" Kate asked, sounding a bit annoyed, "You know I've been trying to get a hold of her. Why didn't you tell me you had her number?"

"I just got it this afternoon," Santana said, giving her attention to her girlfriend, "And besides, it's not my place to just hand out her number like that."

"I'm not just some random stranger," Kate said, now clearly upset, "I've been trying to talk to her forever."

"Now you're just exaggerating," Santana said.

"OK!" Sugar said clapping her hands together, "What does it matter? Kate, you talked to Brittany and got a card. She's expecting your call. Can we just eat?"

"Yeah," Puck said, "Unless there's a mud pit involved, I'm not interested in seeing a chick fight."

"Ugh," Santana groaned, "Why are you such a pig Puck?"

"It's part of my charm," Puck joked.

_"Sugar party of four!"_

"Let's go," Sugar said.

The host lead the three through the main room and seated them at a booth. Santana managed to get a glimpse of Brittany, Quinn and Mercedes in a booth opposite of where she was walking. Brittany looked up and caught her eye but just as quickly looked away.

Santana just shook her head and followed the host. They were seated in a section of the restaurant that made it impossible to see the table of the other three. It was probably for the best. She needed to spend the dinner trying to fix this disagreement with Kate.

The two groups didn't see each other again that night.

-**tbc**-


	6. For Free

**A/N: Sorry for the wait in updates. Took a last minute trip and was offline for many days. Also wow, did not expect there to be such a divide when it came to Quinn. Come on, she's nice. ;-****)**

* * *

Brittany sat at her desk at home and stared at her computer screen. She was sure the blinking line on her newly opened Word document was mocking her.

You. _*blink*_ Will. _*blink*_ Fail. _*blink*_

For most of the semester Professor David Maritnez had only assigned the class to write one or two page papers, which Brittany could handle. She had known this big English paper was coming since the first day of class when she had read it on the syllabus. This big paper was only the first of three she had to write for the semester. Brittany knew she was screwed.

She had designed her academic calendar in such a way that she only took the English classes she absolutely needed to graduate. Nothing more. This literature class was one she should have taken her sophomore year, but she had put it off. But there was no more putting it off. She needed to pass this class to get her diploma. Mercedes had been amazing in helping her but Brittany was starting to feel guilty that she was taking up too much of her time when Mercedes herself had just as much work.

"Ugh!" Brittany groaned and slammed the lid of her laptop shut. She still had a week before the paper was due. She still had time.

Professor Maritnez had suggested she get a tutor and had given her the number of someone named Finn Hudson. She let out a breath and picked up her phone. She needed help.

"Hello," the guy over the phone said.

"Umm, hi," Brittany hated that even talking on the phone to someone she didn't know made her a bit nervous, "Is this Finn Hudson?"

"That's me," Finn said, "Who is this?"

"Oh, umm, I'm Brittany. Brittany S. Pierce. I'm, uh, wondering if you're doing any tutoring right now? Professor Martinez gave me your number."

"Oh sweet!" Finn said, sounding excited, "Yeah, I can tutor you. American Lit, right?"

"Yup," Brittany said relived that Finn sounded like a nice guy, "I have to write a 10 page paper and I'm so lost."

"No worries," Finn said with a laugh, "I can help. What's your paper about?"

"Well," Brittany said, "Maritnez had us choose a book and I chose 'Animal Farm' cause I thought it was about animals. But apparently it's not, even though all the characters are animals."

Brittany was sure she sounded like an idiot and hearing Finn chuckle on the other end of the phone only confirmed her suspicion.

"Easy enough," Finn said, "That's one of the classics and not hard at all."

Again, Brittany felt like an idiot.

"OK, good," was all Brittany could say, "Can we meet later?"

"Let me check," Finn said. Brittany heard some noises in the background. "Sure," he said, "Five? At The Bean?"

"Sure," Brittany said.

"Great," Finn said, "So, it's $20 per hour."

"OK," Brittany said letting out a breath. She already knew this tutoring was going to be expensive.

"Awesome! See you tonight."

Brittany hung up, picked up her bag and left for school.

###

Santana looked at the unopened envelope in her hand and let out a breath. She and Tina sat in their usual middle table at The Bean having lunch before Santana had to get ready for the filming of the cheer video. She had stopped by her mailbox on the way to meet Tina on the off chance the mail had arrived. When she opened her box, she had found the lone letter.

"Are you going to open that or what?" Tina asked.

They had ordered food and were halfway done when Santana had shown Tina the letter. She knew she was being silly but she couldn't bring herself to open it just yet.

"It's so thin," Santana said, worried, "Thin letters are usually rejection letters."

"Open it!" Tina said, now frustrated.

"But what if..."

Santana didn't finish her sentence because Tina grabbed the letter from Santana's hand and opened it.

"Tina!" Santana protested.

Tina took the letter out, unfolded it and began to read.

"'Dear Ms. Lopez. Thank you for submitting your short stories to the American Literature Review. We are pleased to inform you that your two short stories, 'The Little Liar' and 'Wondering Heart' will be published in our May issue...' YES!," Tina almost shouted, "I told you you'd get published. This is awesome!"

"Oh my God," Santana said softly. She wanted to jump up and scream from excitement. This was huge. She would be a published author. Santana rarely let herself feel proud of her work, but this was not a time to be humble. This was amazing.

"I told you!" Tina said getting up and going to Santana to give her a hug, "My friend is a published author!"

Santana was still shocked but managed to hug Tina back, "Holly shit!," she said, "I have to...I have to call my parents. Tell Schuester."

She snatched the letter from Tina's hand and got up, "I'll see you later."

Santana grabbed her stuff and headed out the door. The last thing she heard was Tina yelling at her that she forgot to pay for her food.

###

Brittany finished packing up the equipment she would need for the shoot this afternoon. Santana hadn't called so she figured everything was still all set. She hadn't seen Santana or her group of friends since their run in at Breadstix and she was glad for that. She liked Sugar, but Puck and Kate were not really people she wanted to hang out with. Then there was Santana who seemed to be nice when they were alone but got grumpy when they were with other people. She hated to think how grumpy Santana would get this afternoon when the whole squad would be there.

Does her grumpiness get worse the more people are around, she wondered.

"You all set?"

Brittany looked up at the door and saw Quinn standing there with a smile that made Brittany relax.

"All set," Brittany said, "Are you ready?"

"I am," Quinn said coming into the room, "How many cameras are we taking?"

"Two," Brittany said, "This is Santana's only day to film so I figured you and I could film her at different angles while I interview her. The less takes she does the better."

"Good idea," Quinn said, "She's not exactly Miss Personality."

"She's not that bad," Brittany said, somehow feeling the need to defend the cheerleader, "Sometimes she's nice."

"Maybe she is," Quinn said shrugging her shoulders, "But from what I've seen, it's just best if we finish with her as soon as possible."

"Yeah," Brittany agreed, "That's what she wants too."

Brittany handed Quinn her camera and picked up her own.

"Mike is meeting us out front," Brittany went on.

"Mike Chang, make up guy" Quinn stated. Every time Brittany had introduced Quinn to one of her friends, Quinn had tried to associate their name with their major to help her remember who they were.

"That's right."

"Cool," Quinn said, "So hey, umm, I had a good time last night."

"Me too," Brittany said with a smile, "Mercedes totally loved you."

"I loved her too," Quinn said, "She's awesome. So, I know we just hung out last night, but do you want to have dinner or something after the shoot?"

"That'd be great but Mercedes has class..."

"Oh, actually I meant just you and me," Quinn said shyly, "Kind of like a celebratory dinner for our first project together."

Brittany really wanted to say yes. Spending time with Quinn was quickly becoming one of her favorite things to do. "I would totally love to," Brittany said, "But I can't."

"Oh OK," Quinn said shaking her head, "It's last minute. You probably have plans with Jesse, right?"

"No, no," Brittany quickly said not sure why she felt the need to make it clear she wasn't seeing her boyfriend later, "I hired a tutor for my English class and I'm meeting him after the shoot."

"Ah, OK," Quinn said sounding almost relived, "Your paper is due soon, right?"

"Yeah," Brittany said sadly, "I haven't even started. I'm hoping this Finn guy can help me."

"You know," Quinn said stepping closer, "I'm not much of an English scholar but I did get an 'A' in my American Lit class. Maybe I can help you."

Brittany hated when people got too close, it made her feel uncomfortable. However, when Quinn did it, she actually liked it. Brittany looked into Quinn's eyes and was struck again at how pretty they were. She also saw something else she couldn't put her finger on.

She really would love to have Quinn as a tutor and spend more time with her, but she hated the idea that Quinn would see just how dumb she was when it came to this class.

"It's OK," Brittany said with a smile, "I already told this guy to meet me. Besides, you're going to be busy."

"Am I?" Quinn asked with a small laugh, "What am I doing?"

"You're going to come back here and start editing this footage," Brittany said with a wink and began walking to the door.

"You're a mean boss, Brittany," Quinn teased and followed close behind. "Oh by the way," Quinn went on, "Santana's girlfriend called me to make an appointment with you."

Brittany felt like her stomach dropped at being reminded about Kate. It was silly but she couldn't help it. She really, really needed to get over this crush on Santana. It wasn't healthy. She knew Santana had a girlfriend, knew the two of them were perfect for each other and knew that Santana would never waste her time with a film geek who hated a subject she loved. Just as she knew that if she met any of her celebrity crushes, none would give her the time of day.

"Brittany?"

"Oh right," Brittany said snapping out of her thoughts. They continued to walk down the hallway to the exit, "Um, yeah, I guess I can do it."

"You don't have to you know," Quinn said, "You should concentrate on your school work and not the demands of some would be actress."

"I know," Brittany said, "But she did say that'd she'd pay me. And I could use the extra cash."

"Are you sure?" Quinn asked.

"Yeah," Brittany said letting out a breath, "I'm sure."

This was actually great timing, Brittany thought. She'd be able to pay for her tutoring lessons with the money she'd get from Kate Dawson.

###

Santana felt like she was on top of the world. She hadn't been in this good a mood in ages. Actually, she really couldn't remember the last time she had been this happy. She had called her parents and, true to form, they had already pre-ordered about a hundred copies of the American Literature Review. Santana suspected that her mom had probably called the whole family by now.

She walked on to the field and saw that the whole squad was already in uniform and waiting for further instructions. She also saw Sue sitting in a director's chair while Kurt put makeup on her.

If she wasn't in such a good mood, Santana would have rolled her eyes.

"Hello everyone," Santana said with a big smile on her face.

"Well, well," Sue said waving Kurt away, "If it isn't J.K. Rowling. Heard about your little stories. Congratulations."

"What? How?" Santana asked, shocked, "I just opened the letter less than an hour ago."

"You told Schuester," Sue said, "That blabbermouth sent out a mass email to all your teachers."

"Your stories were published?" Kurt asked excited.

"Yes!" Santana said proudly. Kurt squealed and almost tackled Santana to the ground when he hugged her.

"Listen Santana," Sue said seriously, "I don't say this often, but I'm very proud of you. You're a gifted writer and I know you'll be successful."

Santana and Kurt parted and just stared at Sue. Never in all the years Santana had known her had she sounded so sincere. Santana almost expected Sue to tell her she was kidding. Even Kurt looked shocked.

"I am capable of being human, you know?" Sue said. She quickly cleared her throat, "Anyway, where the hell is this film crew?"

"Thank you," Santana said once the shock wore off. She shook her head and took out her phone. "Let me call Brittany and ask her when she'll be here."

Kurt gave Santana an amused look and walked away to check on the squad. Sue didn't wait to find out where Brittany was, instead she followed Kurt.

Santana looked for Brittany's number and clicked on her name. She heard a ring, but not through the phone. She looked up and saw Brittany, Quinn and an Asian guy walking towards her. She hung up and waited for them to get near.

Brittany didn't answer her phone. As soon as she saw that Santana had seen her she figured she didn't have to answer it. She just hoped that didn't make Santana mand but the closer Brittany got to Santana, the clearer she could see a big smile on Santana's face.

That's weird, Brittany thought.

"Hey Brittany!" Santana said looking at her. Her smile faltered a bit when she looked at Quinn, "Quinn," Quinn just nodded. Santana then turned to the guy, "Guy I never met."

"Oh," Brittany said, "Santana, this is Mike Chang. He's going to be doing the make up."

"Hey," Mike said.

"Make up, huh?" Santana asked, almost teasing.

"I'm more of a special effects make up guy," Mike said, "But I owe Britt a favor."

"Actually, you might need to do some special effects to make Sue look good on camera," Santana joked.

Mike laughed while Brittany and Quinn were surprised at Santana being playful. Brittany was starting to wonder if Santana had that multiple personality disorder thing she saw a lot on Law & Order.

"Well," Quinn said, "We should get started."

"Right," Brittany said. She turned to Mike, "Can you touch up the girls? I mean they're already really pretty so they probably won't need much."

"It will be my pleasure," Mike said with a sly smile and walked over to the squad.

"Hmm," Santana said with a smirk, "Maybe he agreed to help you out because he'd be surrounded by girls and not to pay a favor."

"Probably," Brittany said with a smile. Brittany hoped this version of Santana stayed the rest of the shoot.

"Well, well," Kurt almost sang when he approached the three women, "If it isn't the famous Brittany S. Pierce."

"Oh, uh, yeah," Brittany said, "Oh wait, I know you. You volunteered at the pet fair with Santana."

"That's me," Kurt said, "We didn't get a proper introduction. I'm Kurt Hummel. Animal lover, assistant to the squad and lover of all things fashion."

"Oh brother," Santana said rolling her eyes.

"Hi Kurt," Brittany said with a chuckle. She already liked him, "Or should I call you Porcelain?"

Santana let out a hearty laugh, causing Brittany to smile.

"Please don't," Kurt said, "I'm hoping that nickname dies once I graduate."

"OK, got it," Brittany said. She turned to Quinn, "This is Quinn Fabray. She's working in the film department this semester."

"Nice to meet you Quinn," Kurt said, "And may I say, your fashion sense is excellent."

"Thanks," Quinn said with a light chuckle, "It's nice to meet you too."

"Doesn't she dress great?" Brittany asked looking at Quinn, "She always looks fancy even when she's wearing casual clothes."

"Alright, stop," Quinn said, looking embarrassed.

"It's true," Brittany said with a laugh.

Santana didn't see it. This Quinn girl was just wearing some dress that looked like something a hipster would wear at the reading of a poetry jam. Nothing special. Santana couldn't understand why Brittany always seemed to be flirting with this girl when she still had a boyfriend. Or maybe she didn't anymore. Santana inwardly groaned. This was not her business.

"ARE WE DOING THIS OR NOT?" Sue yelled from the spot where the squad was getting their makeup applied by Mike.

"The monster has woken," Kurt said in a deep voice, "I'll go try and tame her." He turned to leave.

"Yeah, we should get started," Brittany said, "Quinn can you go and tell the squad what we're doing and I'll tell Santana?"

Santana saw Quinn give her a quick look before agreeing and gladly watched Quinn leave.

"So what are we doing?" Santana asked Brittany with a genuine smile.

Brittany had seen Santana's smile a lot on posters and TV but it looked totally different in person. It was warmer, nicer.

"Well," Brittany began, "I'm going to shoot all your stuff first. I'll film your interview then have you do one or two routines with the squad. You'll be done before you know it."

"Thanks," Santana said, "I do appreciate you doing this for me. I mean, I probably messed up your film schedule or whatever you do. So thanks."

"You're welcome," Brittany said smiling, "I'm glad to do it. I'm just glad you're not being grumpy."

As soon as those words came out of her mouth, Brittany felt herself blush from embarrassment. She waited for Santana to get mad. But she didn't. Santana actually laughed.

"Grumpy?" Santana asked her laugh now just a smile, "You think I'm grumpy?"

"No, of course not," Brittany said in a high pitched voice, "You're not...not really."

"It's OK, Brittany," Santana said still smiling, "I guess I have been grumpy."

Brittany was feeling more at ease with Santana than she had ever been. She felt very bold all of a sudden, "Can I ask you a personal question?"

The sudden nervousness Santana felt surprised her, "Umm, sure."

"Do you...do you have like, multiple personality disorder?" Brittany asked seriously, "Or like, are you bi-polar?"

Out of all the personal questions she had been asked in the past, Santana had never been asked that. She was taken aback by such a random question. She looked at expression on Brittany's face for any trace that she was joking but Brittany looked dead serious. She was at a loss for words but not at a loss to laugh.

"Are you having an episode now?" Brittany asked in a soft voice, wondering if she should call 911 or something.

"No, no," Santana said trying to control her laughter. She hadn't laughed this much in a while, "I'm not bi-polar or have multiple personalities. I'm fine."

"If you say so," Brittany said not sure if she believed her.

Santana calmed her laughing and just looked at Brittany. The serious and confused expression on her face made her look very cute,

"I'm just," Santana began, "I'm just not a fan of being in the spotlight or resident celebrity and sometimes dealing with that turns me into a total bitch. And I'm not really a big fan of people in general."

Brittany had guessed right. Santana didn't like what she did.

"I get it," Brittany said, "I also figured you didn't like people all that much. I mean, when we're alone you seem really nice. But when it's a group you get all...mean."

Santana shook her head unable to stop smiling. This girl was a breath of fresh air and so different from other people she'd ever met and the idea of being mean to her was something she didn't want to do anymore.

"I'll be nicer," Santana said, "Believe it or not I'm actually in a fantastic mood this afternoon. Nothing can kill my buzz."

"You are?" Brittany asked, "Why?"

"Oh, I, it's nothing," Santana said suddenly feeling modest.

"What?" Brittany asked again. She really wanted to know what had Santana in such a good mood. Maybe it was something she could use to make the nice Santana stay.

"Well," Santana said, "Two of my short stories are being published in a literary magazine."

"No way!" Brittany said genuinely excited at the news, "That's awesome!"

Santana forced herself from jumping up with excitement, "It really is. I still can't believe it."

"It's no surprise," Brittany said, shrugging her shoulders, "You're like a big English genius around here."

"Hardly a genius," Santana said suddenly feeling embarrassed.

"You're a genius to me. I bet you never had to hire a tutor."

"No," Santana said, "Wait, do you need a tutor?"

Brittany wanted to kick herself. She had already felt embarrassed at telling this news to Quinn and now she was getting that same feeling mentioning it to Santana.

"Yeah," Brittany said shaking her head, "It's nothing."

"Tutor for what?" Santana asked.

"I...I have an English paper due soon," Brittany admitted, "And I haven't started. I just, I can't get started."

"What's the paper about?"

"We had to pick a book and write a 10 page paper on it," Brittany explained, "I picked 'Animal Farm' for my paper."

"Oh," Santana said, her eyes lighting up, "I love that book! It's a classic."

"That's what I hear," Brittany said sadly, "Umm, we should get started. I'm meeting my tutor at five at The Bean, so I need to film as much as possible before I have to go."

"Who's your tutor?" Santana asked. She only knew of a handful of English students who were tutoring and she felt like she should at least make sure Brittany had a decent one.

"Finn Hudson," Brittany said, "My teacher recommended him."

"Finn Hudson?" Santana asked in disbelief, "That idiot is tutoring now?"

"Is he not good?" Brittany asked now worried she had hired a bad tutor.

"He's OK," Santana said, "But..."

"LET'S GO!" Sue yelled again.

"We should go," Brittany said, "Come on. Let's get started before your coach bites my head or something."

Brittany walked away from Santana and forced herself to forget about her paper. She may not have a clue about the book about farm animals but she knew exactly what she was doing with this camera. For the next couple of hours she would be doing something she loved and knew very well.

Santana followed Brittany and sort of felt sorry for the girl for being stuck that idiot giant.

###

Brittany was surprised at how smoothly the whole shoot had gone. In the three hours they were there she and Quinn managed to get most of what they'd needed to complete the video. They did need to come back another day to do some more shots of the squad doing routines but for the most part, everything was done. Sue had given them footage from the past season's football games for them to use and a compilation of her favorite routines.

Brittany had thought dealing with Coach Sylvester would be a nightmare but she had learned early on that if she made Sue feel like the star, she was easy to deal with. Brittany had always been pretty good at reading people while she filmed them. She cold pick up on their strengths and insecurities and work it to get the best shot. It was just too bad she couldn't read people as easily in her every day life.

Filming Santana had been interesting. It was like she turned into a totally different person when the camera was on . Santana was playing a character and nothing could break her. Santana's TV persona was so well rehearsed and fleshed out that Brittany couldn't get the real Santana to come out on film. Brittany and Quinn didn't have to do many takes for Santana and had managed to film her stuff pretty quickly. When Brittany had told the cheerleader they didn't need her anymore, she expected her to leave, but she didn't. She had actually stayed to watch the rest of the shoot.

At about fifteen minutes to five, they had finished with everyone. Quinn was on her way to the editing studio to look over what they had filmed while Brittany walked across the quad on her way to The Bean for her tutoring lesson.

She really wished she were going with Quinn instead of meeting this Finn guy.

When she entered The Bean, Brittany suddenly realized she had no idea what this guy looked like. She scanned the room and spotted the only guy who was sitting alone. Maybe that's him, she thought and went to his table.

"Umm, excuse me?" Brittany asked, "Are you Finn?"

"Brittany?" Finn asked with a smile, "I am."

"Oh great," Brittany said with a small chuckle and sat down in front of him, "Have you been waiting long?"

"Nah," Finn said, "I just got here myself."

Brittany reached into her bag and took out her book and notepad, "OK, so," Brittany began, "I have a 10 page paper due next week and I read the book and I sort of get it but not really."

"Let me see how much you've written so far," Finn said.

Brittany had that awful feeling in the pit of her stomach she always got when she had told her teachers she hadn't done her homework, "I haven't."

"Nothing?" Finn asked surprised, "Not even an outline?"

Brittany shook her head.

"Wow, OK," Finn said, "I guess we're starting from scratch. It's still $20 an hour."

"Yeah, I know," Brittany said, already dreading the total she'd have to spend for tutoring.

"Let's get started," Finn said.

###

Santana walked across the campus knowing she should go home. Her mom had already left five messages about having a celebratory dinner with the family and there had also been an angry message from Kate. Kate was upset that she had to hear about Santana's good news from Tina and not from Santana directly. She should go home to sort everything out but that would have to wait.

She couldn't stop thinking about Finn Hudson being a tutor. That was quite possibly the funniest thing she had heard in a while. She had come across Finn a few times and the guy was a cocky bastard who thought he knew everything and what was best for everyone. Santana swore he had some sort of God complex. And now he was tutoring Brittany and that was not going to end well. Not for Brittany anyway. The way Brittany talked about her English class it seemed like she was very insecure about her ability to get through the class. Finn Hudson couldn't help her at all.

Santana knew she wanted to eventually become a professor and she had yet to even tutor anyone. She did have to be an assistant teacher to the local middle school one semester for a class but it wasn't the same. Santana wanted to teach adults, not kids. She needed practice teaching people over 12.

Brittany had kept her word and had finished filming Santana's segment for the video in about an hour. She wanted to return the favor.

She walked into The Bean and her eyes immediately fell on a table near the wall where Finn was talking to Brittany. Brittany had a look of utter confusion on her face.

Santana walked over to them but they didn't notice until Santana was right the table, "Good evening."

Brittany looked up and was sure her mouth fell open in utter shock at seeing Santana, "Hey. Was there a problem with the shoot?".

"Hey Santana," Finn said, "Here for some coffee?"

Santana gave Brittany a smile before turning her attention to Finn, "Actually, I'm here to tutor Brittany."

"What?" Brittany asked. Now she was really confused.

Finn let out an annoyed huff, "Get out of here Santana. I'm working."

"How much is he charging you Brittany?" Santana asked, ignoring Finn.

"Umm, tween..twenty dollars and hour," Brittany said still trying to process what was happening. Why would Santana want to waste her time tutoring her. Maybe this was a joke, she thought.

"Holy shit!" Santana almost shouted, "That's highway robbery! I have a better price for you."

"You do?" Brittany asked. She wished her heart would stop beating so fast.

"Damn it, Santana," Finn said now upset, "Brittany is my client. She already hired me, not you."

"I'll tutor you for free Brittany," Santana said looking at Finn and giving him her best smirk.

"Free?" Brittany asked, "Santana what are you doing?"

"Returning a favor," Santana said.

"Brittany, you hired me," Finn said a bit too sternly.

Brittany looked back and forth between the two. On the one hand, she liked the idea saving her money but hated that Santana would see just how clueless she was. On the other hand, she knew she wouldn't be as intimidated with Finn.

"I, uh," Brittany said looking at Finn, "I'm sorry. But free is way better than $20 an hour."

"You heard the lady," Santana said, "Beat it gigantor."

Finn got up and grabbed his books, "Thanks for making me waste part of my evening. I could have been tutoring someone else and actually made money."

"Calm yourself," Santana said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the ten dollar bill she had and gave it to Finn, "Take it and stop your crying."

Finn angrily snatched the bill and walked away.

Santana sat down in the seat Finn had just vacated and reached over and took Brittany's book, "I'm getting so many flashback just looking at this cover."

"Were you serious about tutoring me?" Brittany asked, worried that Santana would change her mind or that that this really was some cruel joke.

"I am," Santana said.

"Why?" Brittany asked, "And what favor are you returning?"

Santana put the book back down, "The favor of you, and Quinn I guess, finishing filming me today. I am now free of all squad media duties. And when I heard that Finn Hudson was tutoring you, I just, I couldn't let anyone suffer going though that."

"Aren't you busy though?" Brittany asked, "I'm sure you have so much to do and not waste your time tutoring me and without getting paid! I mean you were serious about it being free right?"

"Yes," Santana said with a smile, "Listen Brittany, like I said, I'm returning a favor. But, I do need practice teaching people. My plan is to be a college professor. That's the career I want and I should get some practice in teaching. So I help you write this paper and you help me practice to be a teacher."

Brittany thought over what Santana said and figured it made sense. Santana wanted something out of this too. Brittany mentally kicked her self for having the split second thought that Santana wanted to do this just for her.

"OK," Brittany said, "I'll be your first student."

"Awesome," Santana said with a smile, "So first question. Why did you pick this book."

Brittany almost lied, "I thought it would be an easy, cute book about animals living in a farm."

Brittany waited for Santana to mock her, but she didn't.

"I thought the same thing," Santana admitted, "I had to read this in my 8th grade AP class and I thought we'd be reading a nice book about the adventures of all these farm animals. I mean, it is but I never thought it'd be so much more than that and so damn complicated."

Brittany immediately felt better. Maybe having Santana tutor her wouldn't be so bad.

"Let's get started," Santana said.

###

Two hours later Brittany understood more about the book than she ever had. Santana was patient and explained things in a way Brittany understood. Writing 10 pages on this book didn't seem so impossible now.

"You're going to be an amazing teacher," Brittany said as they both put their stuff away, "Thank you so much. For the first time ever I don't totally hate this subject."

Santana felt proud of herself and even found herself proud of Brittany. Brittany wasn't as clueless about this subject as she said, she just needed things explained in a certain way.

"You're a good student Britt," Santana said and noticed Brittany blush a bit.

Brittany wasn't sure what caused her face to feel so hot. Santana calling her by her nickname or calling her a good student, "Not so much. I just want to pass this class so I can get my diploma."

"Give yourself more credit," Santana encouraged, "You understand this better than you think."

"You sound like Holly."

"How?"

"She says I'm always doubting myself," Brittany said.

Brittany got up and placed her bag over her shoulder.

"She's right. And don't be too modest," Santana said also getting up, "If you're good at something. Own it."

"I'm good at making movies," Brittany said her eyes lighting up.

"I'm sure you are," Santana said, "I'll have to check out your movies."

Brittany took in a small breath. Santana wanting to see her movies was one of a thousand scenarios she had dreamed up in her head of how she'd finally meet Santana. In this scenario, Santana would come across her site, watch her movies and seek Brittany to film her in a commercial or something. They'd talk, get to know each other and Santana would ask her out. It was a stupid fantasy.

Now Santana wanted to see her movies, but it was not at all how she had imagined.

"I hope you like them," was all Brittany managed to say.

They began waking to the exit and for some reason Santana didn't want their tutoring session to end just yet, "Hey, coffee before we go?"

"If you want one sure," Brittany said, "I'll just go..."

"No, Britt," Santana interrupted her, "I meant we should both get a coffee before we go. Together."

Santana was finding this girl more and more endearing the more time she spent with her. Brittany was quirky, humble, nice and sweet. Traits Santana had not come across a lot in her life.

"Oh!" Brittany said understanding, "Umm, sure. I have a minute."

"You have to be somewhere?"

"I just wanted to stop by the editing room and see what Quinn was up to," Brittany said.

"Ah, right," Santana said feeling that tiny lump in her stomach every time Brittany mentioned Quinn. There was just something about that girl Santana didn't like.

"Could we take the coffee to go?" Brittany asked, hoping that was fine with Santana. Brittany figured it would be since she was sure Santana was really busy with stuff.

"Sure," Santana said ignoring the slight feeling of disappointment she thought she felt.

Brittany went to the counter and ordered two coffees and paid for them. She told Santana it was the least she could do for he since she was giving her free tutoring lessons. They took their coffees and headed out the door.

"Thanks again," Brittany said as they stood outside The Bean, "You really helped me and I'm pretty sure I can write at least five pages."

"You're welcome," Santana said, "Should we meet again? Get you to write those other five pages."

Brittany wasn't sure how she had gotten to this moment. A week and a half ago, Santana was nothing but a celebrity figure and now she was in front of her asking Brittany when they'd meet again. Even though for Santana it was just a way to practice her teaching, Brittany still felt a rush.

"For sure," Brittany said, "How about the day after tomorrow? I'll write up the first five pages and have you look at them."

"Sounds good," Santana said with a smile. She really should get going but her feet didn't seem to want to move.

"I'll call you," Brittany said, "Oh and tell Kate I'll type up some ideas for her video and maybe give it to her tomorrow. But have her call Quinn."

"Wait what?" Santana asked, "Are you doing her video?"

"Yeah," Brittany said, "She called Quinn and Quinn probably called her back already to set something up."

"Listen Britt," Santana said, "You don't have to do that video. Kate can just find someone else to do it. I'm sure you're really busy. And you have this paper to write."

"I'll manage," Brittany said. She had already agreed to do this for Kate and Brittany hated to backtrack on things she committed to do.

Santana suddenly got a mental picture of Kate bossing Brittany around and she didn't like it. Not one bit. Brittany was too nice to deal with someone with Kate's strong personality.

"Britt.."

"Have a good night Santana," Brittany said turning to leave, "I'll call you to set up the next session."

Santana wanted to say more but just told Brittany to have a good night.

-**tbc**-


	7. Managing

Once Schuester had dismissed the class, Santana started packing up her things. This class was always way too short.

"Hey, congratulations Santana."

She looked up to see one of her classmates with a big smile on his face.

Santana thanked him. She had been getting congratulations all day for having her short stories published and she loved it. While she hated getting attention when it came to cheerleading, she loved it when she was in the spotlight for her writing or academics.

She was the last one to leave the classroom and as soon as she walked out into the hallway she saw one Mercedes Jones.

"Santana Lopez."

Santana couldn't read the expression on Mercedes' face and that made her nervous. She would never let this girl see she intimidated her though. Santana Lopez did not show weakness.

"What?" Santana asked and tried to look annoyed.

Mercedes's face softened and a smile appeared, "Brittany told me what you're doing."

"And what I'm I doing?"

"You're tutoring her for free," Mercedes said, "Not gonna lie, I thought she was joking when she first told me."

"Why?" Santana said as she started walking down the hall with Mercedes following, "The mean cheerleader doing something nice is so farfetched."

"Listen," Mercedes said grabbing Santana's arm to stop her from walking. "Let's not pretend your intentions are totally selfless. You're getting something out of it too but it's not a bad thing. Brittany really does need help with that paper and who better to help her than the top student of the English department."

"Why are you so protective of Brittany?" Santana asked.

"I'm just looking out for her," Mercedes said shrugging her shoulders, "Anyway, she also said your shoot went very well."

Santana crossed her arms, "Of course it did. And don't for a second think I behaved because of your empty threats."

Mercedes just shook her head as she laughed, "Alright, maybe I misjudged you. Can you blame me though? We ran in the same circles for over a year and not once did you even acknowledge my existence. Every time I saw you, you were snapping at someone or walking around with a look on your face like you wanted to kill everyone."

Santana let out a breath. Everything Mercedes was saying was true, "Well, I'm not like that. At least not when I'm away from all things cheerleading and football."

"Looks like it," Mercedes said.

"Are we done?" Santana asked, now getting impatient, "I have another class."

"Now you're being mean again," Mercedes said but seemed more amused than annoyed, "I think you and I could be friends."

"Maybe you're the one that's bi-polar," Santana said under her breath.

"What?"

"Nothing," Santana said, "I really do have to go. Don't worry about Brittany, OK? As a future teacher, I just really want to help her. That's it."

"Fine," Mercedes said, "I believe you. I have to go too. I was just on my way to the drama department. That girlfriend of yours is doing some dramatic reading on, I don't even know. I'm supposed to pick out some music."

Santana had totally forgotten about Kate's reading. Apparently it was 30% of her grade. I really need to pay more attention, Santana thought.

"Anyway," Mercedes continued, "I'm sure Britt's already there so I should go."

"Brittany? Why is she at Kate's reading?"

Mercedes gave Santana a look of disbelief, "Umm, the video Kate wants her to film?"

Santana almost wanted to ditch her class and head to the drama department and keep an eye on Kate. But she couldn't do that. She had an exam next class and no way she could miss it. "Right," Santana said, "I knew that."

"Take care, Santana Lopez," Mercedes said, "I'm sure we'll bump into each other again."

Santana watched Mercedes walk down the hall and disappeared into the crowd. She headed to her next class and figured that if she finished her exam early, she'd maybe have enough time to stop by the drama department.

###

Brittany looked around the near empty auditorium and tried to see if she spotted anyone she knew. She'd occasionally come by the drama department with Mercedes when they had her do music for some of their productions. Other times, Brittany had been here with Jesse who had directed a few plays.

She and Jesse had met in a beginning directing class and he had been nice, charming and treated Brittany like she was the most important person ever. They had had a lot of the same classes for a while but Jesse later found that he preferred to direct plays and musicals while Brittany was more focused on film. She hated that that tingly feeling she used to get around him was gone. Looking back at the last two months, Brittany couldn't help but noticed that they hadn't spent as much time together like they used to. It made her sad.

Brittany was lost in her thoughts when she heard a deep voice right by her ear, "Penny for your thoughts?"

Startled, she looked up and saw just the person that had been running through her mind, "Hey, Jess."

Jesse gave her a quick kiss before jumping over the row of seats and sitting next to Brittany, "What brings you by?"

"Kate Dawson hired me to make an acting video," Brittany said. She pointed to the camera on her lap, "I'm filming her do some stuff on stage today."

"Oh cool," Jesse said, "She's really talented and I bet you she'll be a star one day."

"Probably," Brittany said softly. Having Jesse near just made her think of what Mercedes had said the other day, "Hey Jess?"

"Hmm?"

"Is it weird that we don't hang out as much as we used to?" Brittany asked turning to her side to face Jesse as best she could, "I mean, it's like, when we do get together it's mostly just to sleep together."

"We're both really busy Britt," Jesse said, "With graduation coming up, there's just so much to do."

Brittany nodded. He did have a point, they were both really busy but she knew that wasn't the main reason they weren't together like they used to be, "Do you still get that tingly feeling when you see me?"

Jesse shifted in his seat, "What do you mean?"

"Like, do you get excited to see me?" Brittany tried to explain, "Like excited when they announce all the summer blockbusters that'll be released?"

Brittany saw Jesse's face as it changed from confusion to understanding. She wasn't very good with words and over time, Jesse had learned to pick up on what Brittany meant. "I love you Brittany," Jesse said, "You're one of the most amazing people I've ever met. And you've also been such a great friend too."

"I feel the same about you," Brittany said, "But…"

"But what?"

"Do you even remember the last time we went out on a date?" Brittany asked.

"We hung out like two days ago," Jesse said.

"No, we had sex two days ago," Brittany corrected, "I mean, like, when was the last time we went out on a real date? A movie or dinner or anything."

Jesse furrowed his forehead in concentration, "Umm, we, uh..."

"Exactly," Brittany said, "That's not really being good boyfriend and girlfriend."

"Oh wow," Jesse said, "I think the last time we went out was like over two months ago."

Brittany nodded, "I think we...I just..."

Jesse took a breath, "We're breaking up, aren't we?"

"You didn't answer my tingle question," Brittany said, "Do you still get tingly when you see me?"

Jesse looked down at his hands, "No. Not really."

"Me neither," Brittany admitted.

They both turned to look at the stage where a few people were setting up fake trees and bushes while others set up a microphone.

"I don't want to lose you," Jesse said, "I meant what I said. You have been a great friend."

Brittany brought her hand to her eye and wiped the tear that fell down her cheek, "Me neither," she said turning to look at Jesse again, "That's what I was really afraid of, not being your friend anymore."

Jesse leaned over and brought Brittany in for a tight hug, "You're not getting rid of me that easily."

"Good," Brittany said with a small laugh.

They were still hugging when Brittany heard someone near clearing their throat.

Brittany looked up and saw Rachel Berry standing near the aisle.

"I'm so sorry to interrupt," Rachel said, "But Kate wants to see you Brittany."

Jesse got up and squeezed Brittany's shoulder, "I should get to class. I'll call you later?"

"Yeah," Brittany said with a smile.

Jesse walked to the aisle, gave Rachel a smile and headed to the exit.

Rachel walked over to Brittany who was still seated, "Are you OK?" Rachel asked sitting down.

"I'm fine," Brittany said wiping her eyes.

"Forgive me, but the fact that you're crying doesn't really support your statement," Rachel said.

Brittany had only met Rachel once when she and Mercedes had done that musical and even then all she really remembered about her was that she talked like some snobby lawyer. But she did seem nice enough.

"I'm fine," Brittany said, "Jesse and I broke up."

"Oh no!" Rachel said looking devastated. It was like Rachel had been the one to break up, "I'm so sorry. Is there anything I can do?"

"It's OK," Brittany said feeling like she should comfort Rachel who seemed more upset than Brittany actually felt, "We're still going to be friends so I'm really happy about that."

"Oh, OK," Rachel said looking a little confused.

"I was just crying a little, cause it's still sad," Brittany said shrugging her shoulders.

"RACHEL!"

Brittany and Rachel looked up to see Kate standing in the middle of the stage yelling out into the auditorium.

"She looks mad," Brittany said, suddenly having second thoughts about doing this video.

Rachel seemed to take in a deep breath to calm herself, "I'M OVER HERE!" Rachel lifted her arm and waved it around.

"IS THAT BRITTANY WITH YOU?"

Brittany stood up, "IT'S ME!" She wasn't sure why everyone was yelling. The echos in the auditorium were enough to carry their voices without shouting.

"OH GREAT!" Kate shouted, "COME BACKSTAGE AND FILM SOME BEHIND THE SCENES FOOTAGE!"

"FINE!" Brittany shouted maybe a little too loudly. Kate seemed startled a little but quickly recovered and gave Brittany a big smile before she disappeared off stage.

"How much is she paying you?" Rachel asked as she stood up.

"$150. Why?" Brittany asked.

"It's not going to be enough," Rachel said and walked out to the aisle.

Brittany followed Rachel wondering what she had meant by that not being enough money.

###

Just as she expected, Santana was the first one to finish her exam. She usually always was and always felt jealous eyes watch her as she walked to the front of the class to drop off her exam. This time was no exception. She quietly exited the class and headed straight to the drama department hoping to maybe make the last part of Kate's reading.

Santana rushed through the almost empty hallways and was out of the building in a flash. Luckily the drama department was near by and she was through the auditorium doors before she knew it.

She heard the girl singing before she saw her. Santana walked down the aisle and when she was close enough recognized Rachel Berry as the girl performing. Santana didn't totally hate Rachel but she didn't exactly like her either. She never would even met the girl if it wasn't for Kate.

When Santana neared the stage she spotted Brittany with her camera aimed right at Rachel.

I thought she was here to film Kate, she thought.

Santana quietly walked through the row of seats and sat next to Brittany, "Hey."

Brittany had been so concentrated on filming Rachel she jumped up in surprise and almost dropped her camera.

"Oh shit," Santana whispered, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

Brittany recovered and lifted the camera to film the last few notes of Rachel's number. She turned to Santana and brought her left index finger to her lips telling her to be quiet.

Santana gave Brittany an apologetic smile and turned to watch Rachel. That girl really could sing. Rachel sung the last bars of the song and when she was done, the sound of scattered applause filled the auditorium.

"Thank you," Rachel said with a big smile, "And remember, I am singing in our Spring Solo production next week and I hope you'll make it."

Brittany turned off her camera and watched Rachel go off stage before she turned to Santana, "Hey."

"Why were you filming Rachel?" Santana asked, "I thought you were here to film Kate?"

"Rachel asked me to," Brittany explained, "She wants me to make a video for her too."

"And you agreed?"

Brittany shrugged her shoulders, "Sure. I've never made a music video so this would be a cool opportunity. And Rachel is really good at singing. She's a little annoying but super talented."

Santana shook her head at finding out Brittany had taken on yet another project that would take up more of her time. It bothered her. Santana chalked it up to Brittany not having enough time for her paper. As her tutor, she wanted to make sure Brittany did well in her class.

"Do you have time though?" Santana asked, "I mean, don't forget you still owe me five pages tomorrow."

"I know, I know," Brittany said, "I'll man..."

"Manage," Santana finished, "Yeah, you keep saying that."

Brittany was a little touched that Santana was worried about her time, but she had to remind herself it was only because of her English paper.

"Don't worry, I'll have the five pages."

"OK, fine," Santana said shrugging her shoulders, "Oh hey, I just realized that I didn't ask you what teacher this paper is for. I pretty much know the styles of everyone in the English department. We could tweak your paper to make sure you write it the way the teacher likes it."

"What do you mean?" Brittany asked.

"Well, like Will Schuester for example, loves when you quote things. So whenever I have to write a paper for him, I use a lot of quotes. Debra Johnson on the other hand, hates too many quotes so when I had her class I didn't use many."

"Oh yeah, OK, I get it," Brittany said, "Well this paper is for David Martinez. American Literature."

"American Lit?" Santana asked confused, "But, Britt, 'Animal Farm' is a British book."

"That's what he said too," Brittany said, "But he said we could pick any book and I saw this one at the bookstore and thought it'd be easy. You know, cause of the animals. He made an exception since I'm barely passing the class and I told him this book would be easier for me. Guess I was wrong."

"Hey, come on now," Santana said reaching over and squeezing Brittany's arm, "I'm going to help you with this OK? Are you really doing that bad?"

Brittany looked down and couldn't keep her eyes away from Santana's hand on her arm. She mentally cursed herself for wearing a long sleeved shirt today. "I think I'm getting a 'D' so far. But if I do good on this paper I can bump up to a 'C'. And that's all I really need."

Santana gave Brittany an encouraging smile and realized she still had her hand on Brittany's arm. She cleared her throat and removed her hand, "Well, don't worry. We'll make sure you turn in a kick ass paper."

Brittany smiled at Santana. For some reason she believed her and felt better about passing her class. Santana was so sweet and so different than she had expected. "Thanks," Brittany said, "So, umm, what are you doing her anyway? Were you looking for me to talk about my paper?"

"Oh, uh for Kate," Santana said, "She's doing a reading...or did a reading? Has she gone up yet?"

Of course Santana would be here for her girlfriend, Brittany thought, why else would she be here.

"Not yet," Brittany said, "She should be up soon."

"Great," Santana said not sure if she was relieved or not about the news, "Where's Mercedes?"

Brittany wondered how Santana knew Mercedes was even here, "Umm, in the sound booth. She's handling the music for the singers."

"Ah."

Brittany fiddled with the camera on her lap not knowing what else to say to Santana. Now that they had spent more time together, Brittany did feel more comfortable with the cheerleader but there were still moments when she felt uncomfortable around her. Like right now.

"She should be up next I think," Brittany said.

"Great," Santana said leaning back in her seat. There was a weird vibe all of a sudden that Santana didn't like or understand, "Have you written any of your five pages?"

"I wrote one page," Brittany admitted, "And a half."

"That's great!" Santana said, "I do expect to read five pages tomorrow. No excuses."

"Yes, Professor Lopez," Brittany teased, surprising herself.

Santana felt a slight flush on her cheeks. She was about to tease Brittany back when she heard her name.

"SANTANA!

Both Brittany and Santana looked up on stage and saw Kate waving. Santana lifted her hand and waved back.

"I can't believe you came!" Kate said, "I didn't think you'd remember!"

"And miss your reading? Never," Santana answered back.

Brittany watched the couple and felt a twinge of sadness at remembering that her own relationship had ended. She knew she and Jesse made the right decision and they were still going to be friends, but it was still sad. Brittany thought two years was a long time to be with someone and to suddenly not be with them would take some getting used to.

Santana watched Kate wave at her one more time then turn her attention to one of the stagehands. Seeing that Kate was now distracted, Santana turned to Brittany. She saw that Brittany had a small pout and looked really sad.

"Are you OK?" Santana asked, concerned.

Brittany snapped out of her funk and forced herself to smile, "I'm fine. I'm just tired."

Santana wasn't convinced but felt it wasn't her place to pry, "No sleep again?"

Brittany just nodded. Luckily she didn't have to try to explain anything because Kate took the stage. Brittany turned on her camera and began to film. She wasn't sure what exactly Kate was going to act out and honestly Brittany didn't even care. She just wanted to get this footage and go home.

The sound of instrumental music filled the auditorium as Kate began to speak.

"Even with time it's not enough..." Kate said.

Brittany zoomed in and framed Kate's face in a tight shot. She had a look that was meant to be seen on a screen and Brittany knew it'd be easy to make her look good on this video. Look wise, Kate was perfect, personality wise, Brittany thought she could be better. When Brittany had gone backstage to film the behind the scenes footage, Kate had turned into a bossy diva just like Mercedes had said. Kate had totally ignored the outline Brittany had written up for her video and said she knew a better way.

When Brittany had looked at what Kate had written, it definitely was not a better way. It was right then and there that Brittany knew she didn't like Kate. Fortunately, Brittany wouldn't have to work with her long. Kate had given her a lot of footage from her past performances and this reading she was doing on stage now would be the only new thing to film.

Brittany took a deep breath. She figured working with Kate would be good practice for when she had to work with snobby celebrities when she started making Hollywood movies.

"...My heart is breaking at your feet..." Kate continued.

Santana almost rolled her eyes at the corny dialogue Kate was reciting. She had attended a few of Kate's acting gigs and there was no denying Kate was a good actress. But, no matter how good Kate was in her productions, Santana always wished she was somewhere else. This little reading was no exception.

Thinking back now, Santana realized that Kate had not gone to any events that were about showcasing her literary talent. Santana would occasionally do readings of her short stories for ULA's Literary Review. It was a monthly event for students to showcase their work. Every time one had come up, Kate was busy. Now shifting in her seat, listening to Kate go on, she felt a little angry with her girlfriend.

Kate continued to recite her piece and by the end was almost crying. When she finished, everyone in the auditorium clapped.

Brittany filmed a little bit of Kate accepting the applause before she shut off her camera. "She's really good," she said.

Santana agreed, "Apparently, there're bets she'll win an Oscar one day."

"Probably," Brittany said.

Kate soon appeared almost running up the aisle towards Santana, "Baby! Did you like it?"

Santana got up and smiled, "You were amazing." Kate walked in between the row of seats and hugged Santana, "You're going to get an 'A' for sure."

Brittany remained seated and just looked down at the camera on her lap. That twinge of sadness returned. Sadness because of Jesse and a little sadness at how happy Santana looked with Kate.

Kate let go of Santana first, "You're done with classes for the day right?"

"Yeah," Santana said. She quickly looked behind her and saw that Brittany's eyes seemed glued to the camera on her lap. She still wasn't convinced the film major was just tired. She turned back to Kate, "Brittany was telling me about her filming you. Saw her in action and I bet it's going to turn out great."

"I hope so," Kate said smiling.

Brittany looked up and saw that the couple was looking at her. "I should get back to the editing room," Brittany said getting up.

"Great!" Kate said, "Can you have a rough copy to show me by tomorrow? And make sure to remember what we talked about."

Brittany gripped her camera a bit tighter, "Tomorrow? Umm, that's really fast. I'm going to need more time."

"But it's just splicing parts of videos together," Kate said, now seeming to get irritated, "It can't take that long. I am paying you, remember? That should at least guarantee me some fast work."

Santana looked at her girlfriend in disbelief, "Kate, you can't expect her to have a video for you so soon. She does have other things to do you know?"

"I thought that Quinn girl was her assistant," Kate asked crossing her arms, "Not you."

Santana let out an exasperated breath. She did not want to fight with Kate in front of Brittany, "We're all Seniors and have lots to do. Just let her work at her own pace. What's the rush for the video anyway?"

"I just want to see it," Kate stated.

The more Brittany watched them argue, the more uncomfortable she became. Especially since it was about her. She needed to get away from them, "Just stop, please."

Santana and Kate turned to look at Brittany.

"Kate. I'm sorry but I can't have a rough copy for you so fast," Brittany said firmly, "I can have something for you in a few days. Editing video takes time."

Kate let out a huff of air, "Fine."

"I have to go," Brittany said, "I'll see you tomorrow Santana. Same time and place."

"Sure," Santana said, hating that Brittany probably felt so uncomfortable that she had to leave.

Brittany turned and walked in the opposite direction in between the seats and exited on the other side.

Santana sighed and turned her attention to Kate.

"Wait," Kate said, "What does she mean she'll see you tomorrow?"

"I'm tutoring her in English," Santana said.

"Since when?"

"Since yesterday," Santana said, "Look, let's just get out of here."

"Why are you tutoring her?" Kate asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Are you kidding me?" Santana asked, rolling her eyes, "She needs help and I need practice teaching. That's why."

Kate seemed to think this over and slowly smiled, "OK. Fine. Just, don't give her too much homework so she can work on my video." Kate winked at Santana and turned to leave, "Let me just go get my stuff."

Santana watched Kate head backstage not sure if she felt frustrated or annoyed with her girlfriend.

###

Brittany headed straight to the film department. She was supposed to wait for Mercedes but all Brittany could think about was getting out of the auditorium and going to the one place at this school where she felt at home. So far this was a horrible day.

Her break up with Jesse, Kate thinking she knew more about filming and bossing her around and watching that weird argument Santana and Kate had were just too much. She took a breath as she entered the film department and went to Holly's office.

Instead of finding Holly behind her desk, Brittany found Quinn.

"Hey," Quinn said smiling. Her smile quickly disappeared, "What's wrong?"

"Why do you think something's wrong?" Brittany asked going to sit on one of the chairs in front of desk.

"Maybe because you look like you just lost your puppy," Quinn said leaning forward, "Did Kate do something? Because if she gave you a hard time, I'll..."

"No, no," Brittany interrupted, "She, I mean, yeah, she was kinda bitchy and bossy, but, she's not why I'm sad."

"What is it then?" Quinn asked, her voice dripping with concern.

Brittany slumped in her chair and looked at her hands on her lap. "Jesse and I broke up," she said softly.

Brittany heard the sound of a chair creaking and soon felt Quinn crouch beside her, taking her hands in hers.

"I'm sorry," Quinn said, "Anything I can do?"

Brittany shrugged her shoulders. There wasn't anything anyone could do, not really. She just needed time. The funny thing was, she wasn't even sure if her break up with Jesse was the only reason why she felt sad. She wished she could just take a trip to the beach and spend the day swimming in the ocean.

Brittany felt Quinn's warm hands give her own a light squeeze. She liked that. A lot. Just being close to Quinn seemed to calm her and make her feel a lot better, "This is nice." Brittany looked up at Quinn and saw a small smile on her face.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Quinn asked.

"Maybe," Brittany said, "But not right now. Is that OK?"

Quinn stood up, letting go of Brittany's hands and leaned up against the desk. "Of course it is," Quinn said, "But, I'm here whenever you feel like talking, OK?"

Brittany gave Quinn a big smile, "OK. Just being here with you is making me feel better," she admitted.

Quinn extended her hand and brushed a strand of Brittany's hear behind her ear, "I'm glad," Quinn said.

Before Brittany could process the warm feeling she felt from Quinn's comforting gesture, her phone alerted her to a text. It as Mercedes.

"Uh oh," Brittany said, "Mercedes is mad I didn't wait for her."

"She'll understand," Quinn said.

"Umm, hey," Brittany said, "Can you not tell Mercedes I told you about Jesse? I mean, like, she's usually the first one I tell things to and I just don't want her to feel bad that I told you first."

Quinn stood up and gave Brittany's shoulder a gentle squeeze, "My lips are sealed," she said and went to go back to sit behind Holly's desk.

"Thanks," Brittany said. She texted Mercedes back that she wanted to meet her after her next class. When she was done she turned her attention back to Quinn. "How's your end of the cheer video coming along?"

"Really good I think," Quinn said, "As soon as I'm done here, I can show you what I've done."

"Cool."

"Oh hey. How was your tutoring session? Did that Finn guy help you?"

Brittany straightened up a bit in her seat, "Oh, yeah, Finn isn't my tutor anymore. I got a new one."

"Really?" Quinn asked sounding surprised, "Who? Was Finn a bad tutor?"

"Umm, well actually," Brittany began, "Santana offered to tutor me for free."

Quinn leaned back in her chair with a look of disbelief on her face, "Santana?"

"Yeah," Brittany said, "She said she was really grateful that you and I finished her stuff so early, she's repaying me the favor by helping me with this paper."

Quinn raised an eyebrow, "Hmm."

"What?"

"Nothing," Quinn said shaking her head, "It's just so, unexpected."

"I know," Brittany agreed, "I was surprised too but she did say she'd help me for free and she is the top student in her class."

"Wow, this Santana is just full of surprises."

"Well, she said she wanted to use me for practice," Brittany explained, "She wants to be a college teacher and I'm just her test mouse."

"Her guinea pig?"

"That too."

Quinn leaned forward again, "If she gives you a hard time..."

"She won't," Brittany said quickly, "She's really good and I understood lots of stuff. I'm lucky she's tutoring me."

"OK, Britt," Quinn said, "As long as it helps you."

"It's helping me a lot," Brittany said.

Quinn picked a few folders on Holly's desk and put them in the side desk drawer, "Good. Just give me a few more minutes. I'm almost done here."

"Cool," Brittany said, "Hey, where's Holly?"

Brittany saw the playful glint in Quinn's eyes.

"She's in a faculty meeting," Quinn said, "She'll be back soon. I was just organizing some of her files."

"Then why do you look like you're hiding something?" Brittany asked.

"She was probably going to tell you later," Quinn said, "But, before she went to her meeting she told me she talked to her friend in New York."

"About the job openings? What'd she say?" Brittany asked, the sadness she felt now replaced with curiosity and a little excitement.

"She said that you and I made the final cut!" Quinn said, her face lighting up with glee, "And she's really confident we'll get a job in June!"

"Are you serious?" Brittany asked, her hands clutching at the arms of her chair.

"Isn't that amazing news?" Quinn asked, "I'm sure that makes you feel better, right?"

"For sure!" Brittany said, "Spending a summer working for a studio in New York is awesome news."

Quinn furrowed her eyebrows, "A summer? Britt, this job isn't just a summer thing. It's a permanent job."

Brittany let go of the armrests. Had she misunderstood Holly, she wondered. Holly had never said it was just a summer job. Brittany had just assumed. If she got this job that would mean she'd be moving to New York after graduation.

"Did you think it was just a temporary job, Britt?"

"Yeah," Brittany said, leaning back in her chair, "I did."

Quinn looked worried, "You'll still take it right? If they offer it to you? No, when they offer it to you."

Brittany felt overwhelmed. Could she move to a new city? Could she move to a city where she didn't know anyone?

"Brittany?"

Brittany knew that no matter how scary it would be to leave the only city she had known as home for something new, she had to do move. This was her chance to get her career started. And besides, Quinn would get the job too. She wouldn't be alone. She'd have Quinn.

"Yes," Brittany said, "I'll take the job if they offer it to me."

###

Santana watched as Kate took a bite of her garlic bread. She really wanted to talk to Kate about how she had seen her treat Brittany but knew she couldn't without it turning into some fight. Kate liked having things her way and when they weren't, she was not shy of putting up a fuss.

After leaving the auditorium, they had made made plans to have dinner together. Now, here they were at Breadstix, eating pasta and bread.

Santana put her fork down and waited for Kate to finish chewing before she spoke, "Do me a favor."

"What?"

"Be nice to Brittany," Santana said, "Just let her do her thing. I saw some of her movies last night and they were really good. I have no doubt she'll do an amazing job with your video, if you leave her to do her thing."

Kate slowly picked up her glass of water and took a sip, her eyes never leaving Santana. When she put her glass back down, she just smirked.

"Did you hear what I said?" Santana asked.

"You never cared about me being nice to anyone," Kate said, "But you're worried how I treat this girl?"

"She's my student," Santana said, "Well, sort of, so yeah, I care that you're nice to her."

"And it's not that you're trying to get into her pants?" Kate accused.

Santana almost chocked on her own saliva when she heard the question. She took a quick sip of her water before answering, "Are you fucking kidding me?

"Are you?"

"Jesus! Of course not," Santana protested. She couldn't believe Kate would even suggest such a thing, "Like I said, she's my sort of student. The way you treat her reflects on me as well, since you're my girlfriend. I can't properly tutor her if she hates me because you treat her like shit. That's it."

Kate seemed to think this over for a bit, "I guess that makes sense."

"Of course it does," Santana said trying to calm her sudden rapidly beating heart.

"Brittany's paying you to tutor her right?"

Santana wasn't sure why she lied, "Of course she is," she said avoiding Kate's eyes. She picked up her fork again and stabbed a ravioli.

"Good," Kate said, "Look, I'm sorry. Maybe I'm just jealous."

Santana finished chewing the ravioli in her mouth, "Since when are you the jealous type?"

"Since I started dating you," Kate smiled, "You were quite the player before I got my hands on you."

"Well, you have nothing to worry about," Santana assured, ignoring the fact she felt like some sort of caged animal, "I'm a one woman woman now."

"Good," Kate said smiling, "Anyway, enough talk about the director. Let's talk about us."

Santana inwardly groaned, "Sure."

"I was thinking," Kate said, "Since you couldn't make it on that camping trip, you and I should take a trip together. Just us. Maybe like to Vegas or San Francisco. Somewhere nearby."

She wasn't going to lie to herself, going on a trip sounded amazing. She hadn't been outside of Los Angeles in over a year that even Vegas and San Francisco sounded like exotic locations.

"That actually sounds like a great idea," Santana said.

"Great! When do you have time?"

"I probably can't go until like April," Santana said trying to remember her schedule.

"So next month?"

"Oh shit," Santana said, "That's right it's already March. Wow, just a little over two months before we graduate."

"Exciting right?" Kate asked.

"Yeah," Santana said softly, "I can't wait."

"But in the meantime," Kate said, "How about we have a date night Saturday. I got tickets to a great play in Pasadena. My friend Jenny is the lead.

Santana really didn't want to go to yet another play but she did want to go out, "That sounds great."

Santana hoped this play wasn't as boring as the others Kate had dragged her to in the past. She still wanted to talk to Kate about them doing more stuff she liked doing, but Santana figured that could wait until later.

-**tbc**


	8. Let's Bet

**A/N: I know some are frustrated with not having enough Brittana interaction. All the non-Brittana stuff is there to set up the story/characters and not to torture you. ;-) If you stay with it, I think you'll love the Brittana stuff that will happen. If you're done reading, thanks for giving it a shot. ;-) Thanks for reading and big high-five to the ones leaving reviews/PMs. *wave***

* * *

Brittany sat at the same table she and Santana had sat at during their first tutoring session. She had gotten there twenty minutes early to look over the five pages she had written. After the 10th reading, all the words started to run together. She put the paper down and rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands as she yawned. She crossed her arms on the table and put her head down.

Brittany hadn't gone to sleep until almost 3:30 in the morning and had spent most of the day like one of those walkers from 'The Walking Dead' but without trying to bite people. After leaving Quinn, she had gone to class then hung out with Mercedes a bit and tell her everything that had happened.

She then spent a couple of hours looking over Kate and Rachel's footage, which had come out great. At around eight when she had started writing her five pages, Jesse had called to talk. That talk had lasted over two hours. She was still sad but talking to him made her feel lots better and before they hung up, they made plans to go to dinner next week. As friends, of course.

"Hmmm," she hummed into her arms. She was sure she was still awake because she could still hear everything around her, but everything sounded so far away. She tried to open her eyes but couldn't.

###

Santana looked at the clock on her phone and cursed. She only had five minutes to get from the football field to The Bean. Finalizing the list of the next semester's squad had taken longer than she anticipated. The two girls she had chosen and the two alternates, while not as good as Santana, were at least up to her standards. Now, not only was Santana done with all squad publicity, she was also done with any and all official business. She was finally free to enjoy the remaining two months of her senior year without the burden of being the spokesperson for the ULA squad.

She didn't even have time to change and felt oddly self-conscious about meeting Brittany in her ULA sweats and T-shirt. Santana put that thought out of her mind as she reached the front door of The Bean. When she went in she was greeted with a familiar sight. Brittany looked like she was asleep.

Santana smiled and shook her head. She really couldn't understand how Brittany could even sleep with how noisy The Bean was at this time of day. She went to her table and quietly sat down without waking her sleeping student.

Santana cleared her throat, "_Ahem_."

Brittany stirred. She could still hear the humming of people talking and clatter of plates but the last noise she heard sounded different. It sounded closer.

Santana reached over and lightly tapped Brittany on the top of her head.

Brittany jumped up when she felt someone touch her head. It took her a few seconds to remember where she was, when she did, she saw Santana sitting in front of her with an amused smile on her face.

"Am I boring you already?" Santana teased.

Brittany ran a hand through her hair and hoped the warm flush from embarrassment she felt wasn't noticeable, "Hi."

Santana noticed the light bags under Brittany's eyes and didn't feel like teasing her anymore. "Up late last night?"

"Umm, yeah," Brittany said as she organized her five pages into one pile, "I wrote the pages."

"Did it take you all night?"

"Oh no," Brittany said, "I mean, yeah it took me a few hours, but that's not why I went to bed late."

"Please tell me you weren't working on Kate's video," Santana said, "You don't have to give her anything so fast."

Brittany reached for the cup of coffee she had bought when she first got here and took a sip of the now cold liquid, "I did look at what I filmed but I didn't really work on it. Jesse and I...never mind," Brittany said, "Anyway, here are my five pages." She extended her arm across the table and handed Santana the papers.

Santana involuntarily clenched her jaw and took the papers, "You should concentrate on this paper and not your social life."

"Are you going to be mean now?" Brittany asked picking up on her tutor's tone.

Santana closed her eyes and took a breath, "No, sorry," she said opening her eyes and looking at her student, "I said I wouldn't be mean anymore. So, let's see what you wrote here." Santana focused all her attention on reading Brittany's first five pages.

Brittany grabbed her cup of cold coffee and got up, "I'm going to get a fresh cup. I'll get you one too." Santana just hummed in approval, her eyes never leaving the paper.

Brittany left and hoped that by the time she got back, Santana would be finished reading. She didn't have any confidence this paper was even any good. Santana had been awesome in explaining things and she understood them, but writing them down was totally different. Brittany got the two coffees but just hung out by the counter and watched Santana. Brittany began to bite one of her nails, a nervous habit her mother had called gross. She couldn't help it though, she was really worried Santana wouldn't like what she had written. When Brittany saw Santana start on the last page, Brittany took the coffees and returned to the table.

"It's dumb, isn't it?" Brittany asked as she handed Santana her coffee.

"No, it's not," Santana said taking the cup, "Give yourself more credit. This is good."

"Seriously?" Brittany asked surprised.

"Yes, it is. There are a few points you missed and some that could be more fleshed out, but you're on the right track."

Brittany let out a big breath she didn't even know she was holding, "I really didn't think I made any sense."

Santana put the paper down and looked straight into Brittany's eyes, "Listen to me. If I'm going to keep being your tutor I have a few rules you need to follow or I'm out of here."

Brittany felt like her heart jumped to her throat. What did I do wrong, she wondered. She didn't trust herself to speak so she just nodded.

"First, do the work," Santana said, "Second, do your best. And third, don't under any circumstance put yourself or your work down. Got it?"

Brittany felt herself smile, "OK, I can do that."

"Good."

"So tell me what I need to flush," Brittany said.

Santana let out a small chuckle, "Flesh out, Britt."

"OK, that doesn't sound as gross."

For the next couple of hours all they concentrated on helping Brittany finish her paper. By the time the sun had completely disappeared, Santana had helped Brittany edit her five pages and even managed to help her write her sixth.

"I really don't know how to thank you," Brittany said gathering up her things, "I mean, I never would have thought I'd be able to write more than two pages on anything."

"Hey now, remember the rules," Santana playfully warned.

"It's true though. And it's not breaking the rules cause I said I thought and now I know that I can."

Santana smiled. She felt extremely proud, but not of herself, of Brittany. Seeing her look so happy and confident about this paper actually made Santana happy. She figured this is what all teachers feel like when they help a student. It was normal.

"I'm glad," Santana said.

"I still feel kinda bad I'm not paying you though," Brittany said.

"Brittany, it's fine. You're helping me too, so think of it as like a trade."

Brittany looked at Santana and saw that she was totally sincere. "Let me at least, like, buy you lunch or something after I'm done with this paper."

Santana stopped herself from immediately accepting Brittany's offer. She suddenly realized that this might be the last time she got to tutor Brittany since her paper was due soon. She had really enjoyed teaching Brittany and felt disappointment hit her in the pit of her stomach at the thought.

Brittany knew her first six pages were good because Santana had helped her but she wasn't so sure her last four pages would be equally as good. Though Brittany had to admit to herself that it wasn't just her paper that fueled the need she had to continue working with Santana.

"Umm," Brittany began, "Can you read my last four pages before I turn in the paper? I mean, if you have time. I know what to write about, but like, it'd be cool if you could look it over."

"Yes, of course," Santana said, the disappointment she had just felt disappearing, "I'd be happy to look over your last four pages."

"Awesome!"

"You're going to get an 'A' on this paper Brittany," Santana said, confidently.

"OK, let's not get too crazy now," Brittany said with a laugh, "I'll be happy with a 'C'."

"Nope, you'll get an 'A'."

"I bet you I don't."

"OK, let's bet," Santana said with a smirk.

Brittany raised her eyebrows, "Seriously?"

"Yeah. If you get and 'A', I win. If you get a 'B' or less, you win."

"Win what, exactly?"

"Dinner?" Santana said without thinking.

There was that feeling again, that feeling Brittany had when Santana had first talked to her. A mixture of wanting to throw up from nervousness and excitement, "Din..dinner?"

"Uh, or lunch," Santana offered. Somehow dinner just sounded too intimate or something, "Or like..."

"Ice cream," Brittany suggested.

"Ice cream," Santana repeated, "Ice cream sounds good. You win, I pay. I win, you pay."

"It's a bet," Brittany said smiling and extending her hand.

Santana took Brittany's warm hand in hers and shook it a little longer than she should, "But don't go writing a bad paper just to win," Santana said letting go of Brittany's hand.

"I won't," Brittany said, avoiding Santana's gaze.

"Great," Santana said, "So, when do you want me to read these last pages?"

"Umm, well the paper is due Tuesday, so Saturday?" Brittany asked.

"Umm," Santana said trying to remember if she had any plans.

"Oh wait, that's the weekend. I'm sorry," Brittany said, "I'm sure the last thing you want to do is spend a Saturday tutoring. How about I email the pages to you."

"Email?" Santana asked, shaking her head,"No, no email. We need to meet."

"Oh?"

"I mean," Santana tried to explain, "I can't give you good notes through email. Saturday is good for me. We can meet here at our usual time."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Santana said. She was sure she was forgetting something but she'd just reschedule whatever it was she had to do.

###

By the time Saturday rolled around, Brittany had accomplished a lot. She managed to get quite of bit of editing done for both the cheer and Kate's videos. While there was no real deadline for the cheer video, Brittany wanted to get it done as soon as possible so she'd have one last thing to worry about.

She and Jesse had even met up for a drink and talked some more. The more time she spent with Jesse the more she liked the idea of just being friends with him. It really wasn't much different than the way they were acting the last two months. Though now, they weren't going to be sleeping together anymore.

When Brittany told Mercedes she wasn't exactly surprised but was very supportive. Mercedes had always liked Jesse and told Brittany she was glad that she wouldn't have to completely cut him out of her life.

And somewhere between her personal life, classes and editing, Brittany had managed to write the last four pages of her paper. She was done and it felt amazing. It was a strange and exciting feeling when she had finished her paper. She usually only got that feeling when she finished one of her movies.

Brittany had gotten a message earlier this afternoon from Holly telling her to meet in her office in an hour. Once a month, Holly held film workshops on Saturdays for all the local high school kids who were interested in film. Brittany had actually taken Holly's workshop during her senior year of high school and because Holly, she had decided to study film.

She put her bag on the floor and sat in one of the chair's in front of Holly's desk. She took a quick glance at her bag and smiled knowing her completed English paper was in there.

She wondered if Holly wanted to talk to her about the films she turned in last week or more about the New York job.

New York.

Just thinking about it gave Brittany butterflies in her stomach. After the initial shock of finding out it would be a permanent move, Brittany's excitement about the job had grown. This would be really exciting and knowing she wouldn't be alone made it a lot less scary.

Brittany smiled and took out her phone. She scrolled down her contacts and found Quinn's number to send her a text.

_Hey! Holly called me into her office. Did she tell you more on the NY job? - BP_

Brittany held on to her phone and waited for a response. She began to imagine what it'd be like to move across the country and felt a bit of a panic. Brittany had told her parents and while they were sad that there was a big chance she'd be moving, the were very proud. They had even suggested Brittany live with her great-aunt and uncle who lived in New Jersey while Brittany looked for a place of her own.

Brittany scrunched up her face just thinking about living with them. She liked them but she really didn't want to live with a two really old folks. She wondered if Quinn would be open to being roommates. As if on cue, her phone beeped.

_Hi. She did yesterday. Told me the NY studio wanted me to submit another video. Now I'm kinda worried. - QF_

_Don't be. I've seen your stuff. You're really good. - BP_

Brittany hit send and hoped she was right. The New York studio had to hire Quinn too, because they'd be crazy not to hire her. And Brittany really didn't like the idea of moving by herself.

_I hope you're right - QF_

Instead of texting back, Brittany clicked on the phone icon and called Quinn.

"I was thinking of calling instead of texting too," Quinn said when she answered.

"Don't worry, OK," Brittany assured, "I'm sure they just want to see more of your awesome videos. I sent them three. How many did you send?"

"Two," Quinn said.

"See, that's probably it," Brittany said, "Maybe they asked everyone who only sent two to send another one."

"Maybe," Quinn said, not sounding convinced.

Brittany hated to think Quinn was feeling worried about this, she didn't like the idea of Quinn being sad. "Hey, do you want to have that celebration dinner you wanted to have the other day? We can talk more about this New York thing."

"Umm, yeah," Quinn said, her voice sounding more happy, "That'd be great."

"Cool. But, I took the bus to school today. Can you meet me here after my tutoring session and pick me up?"

"Of course I'll pick you up. Wait, Santana is tutoring you on a Saturday?"

"Yeah," Brittany said, "My paper is due on Tuesday and I just want her to read over what I wrote and make sure I did it right. I want to make sure I have time to fix anything."

"That's really nice of her to meet up on a weekend," Quinn said, "Maybe she's not such a grouch after all."

"No way," Britt said a little too quickly, "I mean, I told you she can be nice."

"I guess so," Quinn said.

Brittany spotted Holly through the window, "Oh gotta go. Holly's here. I'll call you after and tell you what she said."

"Alright, bye."

Brittany hung up and followed Holly with her eyes as she went to sit behind her desk, "Hey Holly."

"Hey Miss Brittany," Holly greeted with a big smile, "Sorry to interrupt your phone connection there. Little booty call with the boyfriend?"

Brittany shifted in her seat, "Umm, no. We broke up."

"Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry," Holly said with concern, "Are you OK?"

"Yeah, I'm good. It was for the best. Plus we're still going to be friends so it's cool."

"Wow, now that's the spirit," Holly said, "Good for you! Don't you just love a clean break up?"

"Umm, I don't really know," Brittany said, "This is really my first clean break up. It was OK I guess."

"Well, take it from me," Holly said, "They are the best. Hopefully your future break ups are just as clean."

Brittany really wasn't sure what Holly meant so she just nodded and smiled.

"So you wanted to see me?" Brittany asked hoping to get Holly back on track. Holly was great, but sometimes she had the tendency to go start talking about other stuff. Brittany did the same thing sometimes. One time they had started talking about her grade and she and Holly had ended up discussing dancing polar bears.

Holly snapped out of her thoughts, "Oh right! Thanks for coming in on a Saturday. You did mention you were going to be on campus anyway so I figured I'd tell you in person than on the phone."

"Tell me what?"

"About the New York studio job," Holly said. She looked like she couldn't hold her excitement.

"That I made the final cut? You told me that already."

"Yes, I did," Holly said, "But I just got a call from my friend, Roz Washington. She's the one who's head of the department looking to hire, and she wants to interview you."

"Really?"

"Yup! She would hire you on the spot just based on your work, but she wants to talk to you to make sure you're not a psycho. I told her you were perfectly sane, but I guess human resources has rules or whatever."

Brittany leaned forward in her chair, "So if Ms. Washington finds out I'm not a psycho then I'll get the job?"

"That's right lady!" Holly said, "You will have one of the five spots, guaranteed. I mean, after you talk to Roz."

Brittany actually jumped up from her chair and squealed. All the hard work she'd put into her year's at this school were really going to pay off. "Oh my God!"

Holly let out a small laugh, "I know! I mean, just make sure to get that diploma and you're good to go."

Brittany's smile instantly disappeared, "My diploma?"

"Sure. You'll need your diploma to get this job. You're doing fine in your classes right?" Holly asked.

"Yeah, yeah," Brittany said sitting down, "I'm doing good in my film classes…"

Holly nodded.

"…and all my other classes but…"

"But what Britt?"

"My English class is kinda tough," Brittany admitted, "I mean, I have a tutor now so I think I'll be OK."

Brittany could only remember a handful of times when she had seen Holly actually be serious. This was one of those times.

"Brittany. It's very important you graduate on time, OK? You have to get your diploma in May so you can work for this studio."

"I will, I will," Brittany said, "I'll make sure to do everything to pass this English class."

"Good," Holly said, "And if you need any more help, talk to me."

"OK."

"Who's your tutor anyway?"

"Santana Lopez."

Holly looked very surprised, "Well damn! The Cheerleader and English superstar of ULA? Nice catch there Britt. She's sure to help you pass."

"I hope so," Brittany said.

"Relax Brittany," Holly said, "Keep me updated OK? I promise to help you as much as I can. I want you to get this job in New York. I mean I'll miss my favorite student but I do go to New York quite often, so I'll be around."

"Really?" Brittany said, her smile returning, "You'll be in New York too?"

"For the summer, yes," Holly said, "And I've singed up to be part of a teacher buddy program with our sister school over there, so I'll probably teach a class there for a few months too."

Finding out that Holly would be in New York too was making this move easier and easier. She'd know Holly and Quinn.

"Wait," Brittany said, "What about Quinn? She said they asked her for another video. I mean, she's still in the final cut right?"

Brittany didn't like the look doubt on Holly's face, "Yes, she is. They asked her for another video because they can't decide between her and some guy from Chicago."

"But Quinn is an awesome filmmaker," Brittany protested, her voice seemed get get a little louder, "No way this Chicago guy is better."

"Britt, I know she's your friend," Holly said, "And she is very talented. Roz is just not sure if hiring two people from the same school is a good idea."

"But Quinn isn't even a student," Brittany said, "She works here. So it's different."

"Brittany," Holly said holding up her hand, "You don't have to convince me. I hired her remember? I know she's talented. If it were up to me she'd have a guaranteed spot. I've talked to Roz about her and recommended her. Highly. So she already has and edge on this Chicago guy."

"So even though Quinn totally deserves this job, she might not get it just because she and I are from the same school?"

"I'll talk to Roz," Holly repeated.

The exhilaration Brittany had felt at hearing she had a guaranteed spot faded. She somehow felt like if Quinn didn't get this job, it would be her fault.

###

Santana looked all over her desk for her car keys and couldn't find them. She looked at the clock on the wall and saw she still had half an hour until she had to meet Brittany. Luckily she lived close by campus so it would take her about five minutes to get there by car.

"Where the fuck are they?"

She checked the couch, the kitchen, and even opened the front door to her apartment to make sure she didn't leave them hanging there. Nothing.

"OK, Santana. Think!"

There was a knock at the door.

"Maybe it's my keys," Santana told herself as she went to open the door.

It wasn't her keys. It was Kate.

"Hey baby," Kate said stepping in and giving her a quick kiss, "Oh good, you're dressed already."

Santana was dressed in form fitting jeans, boots, red top and her favorite leather jacket. She was dressed but was at a loss as to why Kate cared.

"What are you doing here?" Santana asked.

Kate came into her apartment and threw her bag on the couch, "I know I'm early, but I figured that maybe we could have an early dinner before we head out to Pasadena. Or we could eat over there."

Shit, Santana thought, The play.

"Riiight," Santana said, dragging out the world slowly.

Kate crossed her arms and looked at Santana with narrowed eyes, "Don't tell my you forgot."

"No, no," Santana said, shaking her head, "I just wasn't expecting dinner. I sort of have to be somewhere soon."

"Where?"

"I made an appointment to tutor Brittany and…"

"Wait a second," Kate interrupted, "You're tutoring her now? On a Saturday? On a day we made plans?"

Truth was, Santana had completely forgotten she had agreed to go to the play but she wasn't about to let Kate know that. "You said the play didn't start until eight, so I figured I had enough time to meet Brittany to check out some of her work before we left."

"Is she at least paying you extra to tutor her on a Saturday?"

"Yeah," Santana said, hoping she sounded convincing, "Listen Kate, if you had told me earlier about dinner I would have canceled with Brittany, but now it's too late. So how about you hang out here while I go work with her and when I get back we'll go to the play."

"Fine," Kate said throwing up her hand in frustration, "Whatever."

"Great," Santana said, glad Kate wasn't going to be difficult, "But first, can you help me find my keys? I can't find them anywhere."

Kate rolled her eyes and began to look around the apartment. After another five minutes, Kate shouted from the bathroom.

"I found them!"

Santana ran to the bathroom to find Kate dangling the keys from her index finger, "Where were they?"

"On the sink," Kate said.

It all came back to Santana just then. After she got home she had gone straight to the bathroom to pee and placed the keys on her sink.

Santana looked at her clock again, "Shit, I have to go."

"Why don't I drive you," Kate offered.

"Why?"

"Since an early dinner is out of the question," Kate said, "I might as well go get a pedicure. I'll drop you off, go get my pedicure and then pick you up and head straight to the play."

"Fine, whatever," Santana said. She really didn't want to keep Brittany waiting.

"Great, let's go," Kate said. As they were heading out the door Kate spoke again. "If you were on your way to tutor Brittany, why did you get all dressed up?"

"Excuse me?" Santana asked as they stepped out into the hallway and she locked the door.

"Well, you look pretty fancy for just a tutoring session," Kate said.

Santana looked down at her outfit. "I guess, I just wanted to make sure that if the tutoring session went long, I was ready to go to this play."

That answer seemed to make Kate happy, "That makes sense. Come on, let's go."

Santana followed Kate to her car. Maybe she did spend a little extra time getting ready. But she was Santana Lopez and she had to make sure she always looked good.

###

Brittany sat at the usual table she and Santana had been sitting in for their sessions. She looked at the clock on her phone and saw that it was ten minutes past five and was starting to wonder if Santana forgot they were meeting.

Santana hadn't called her to say she would be late, so maybe she did forget. Brittany looked over her paper again and made sure all her pages were there. She really wanted Santana to look them over before she turned them in to her teacher.

Brittany picked up her phone again and sent Santana a text.

_Hey. It's Brittany. Are you still coming to The Bean for our session? - BP_

She waited for a reply but none came. After another five minutes, Brittany was convinced Santana had forgotten. She slumped her shoulders in disappointment and began to gather her things.

"Brittany!"

She looked up to see Santana almost running to the table, her breathing a little haggard.

"I'm so sorry," Santana said sitting down and taking in a breath, "I couldn't find my keys, then Kate showed up and she drove me here and she took the long way, then she dropped me off on the other side of campus because she didn't want to make a U-Turn and…."

Santana knew she was rambling but couldn't really stop. She felt like she needed to explain to Brittany why she was 15 minutes late.

"It's OK, Santana," Brittany said with a small smile.

"…And I was in such a rush to get out of my apartment, I forgot my phone and…"

"Santana!" Brittany interrupted, "It's OK."

"I'm really sorry," Santana said again, her breathing back to normal.

Brittany saw the sincerity in Santana's face and couldn't be upset with her. She was just happy Santana had shown up. Brittany took in Santana's appearance. Her makeup was flawless and even the light sweat she had on her brow from running here made her look beautiful. Her whole outfit was one that was meant to be seen out on the town and not in some university cafe.

"You do have plans," Brittany said, "You really didn't have to meet me. I could have emailed this to you."

"What makes you think I have plans?" Santana asked taking off her leather jacket and placing it behind her chair.

"Look at you," Brittany said motioning to her, "You're all dress up! You look too beautiful to just be hanging out at a cafe."

Santana rarely felt embarrassed when someone complimented her. She had gotten used to it over the years. Being the "IT" girl at the campus meant she'd get people telling her she was beautify, pretty, hot, whatever on an almost daily basis and she had always shrugged it off.

So, when Brittany said she looked beautiful, the flush of heat to her face and feeling of embarrassment she felt surprised her. "I'm…umm, I'm just…it's just jeans, a shirt and a jacket. Nothing special."

"Do you have plans?" Brittany asked.

"I'm seeing a play later," Santana said. She motioned to the papers in front of Brittany, "Is that your paper?" She really wanted to get off the topic about how she looked.

"Oh yeah!" Brittany handed them over, "So, I kept the first six pages as they were, since you said it was fine but the last four are all new."

"Let's take a look," Santana said. Santana began reading from the first page. She had always been a fast reader and knew reading the whole paper from page one wouldn't take her that long.

Brittany watched as Santana's eyes moved back and forth as she read each line. They were moving pretty fast, kind of like when people dream. As she watched Santana move from page to page she started getting a bit anxious. She slowly got up and went to the counter to buy them some waters.

Santana read Brittany's closing paragraph and looked up to find a bottled water in front of her, "Where did this come from?"

"I bought it while you were reading," Brittany said, "I figured you'd be thirsty after you almost running in here."

"Oh, umm thanks," Santana said, oddly touched at the gesture, "That's nice of you."

"You're welcome. So, my paper? Did you like the last four pages?"

"They were good…"

"But?"

"They could be better," Santana said with a small smile.

"OK," Brittany said nodding her head, "This is the part were you tutor me."

"Yes it is," Santana said with a laugh.

They spent over an hour going over the final four pages and by the end by the end, Brittany was starting to believe she would indeed get an 'A' and owe Santana an ice cream.

"I like banana splits," Santana said handing Brittany her edited paper, "For when you get your 'A' I mean. You're going to owe me a banana split."

Brittany took the papers and smiled, "Well, I like sundaes. Just letting you know."

"Hot fudge or carmel?"

"Hot fudge for sure!"

Santana leaned forward a little, "Me too," she said softly and winked.

Brittany was sure she felt goosebumps at seeing Santana wink at her. Santana winking was one of those fantasy scenarios she had thought up in her head crushing on her over the past two years. Now that it had happened, Brittany was almost convinced she had imagined the whole thing.

"Umm," Brittany began wanting to snap out of her thoughts, "What time is your play? It's almost seven."

The light mood Santana had felt a few seconds ago disappeared, "Eight. I still have plenty of time." She reached into her jacket pocket to reach for her phone, "Fuck. I forgot that I forgot my phone!"

"Yes you did!"

Brittany and Santana looked up to find that Kate seemed to appear out of nowhere and was now standing in front of their table.

"Oh hey!" Santana said.

"I've been calling you," Kate said, "The way you rushed us out of your apartment, I figured you forgot to take your phone." she turned to Brittany, "Hi Brittany. How are you?"

"Hi Kate. I'm fine." Brittany looked at Kate and, yes, she for sure didn't like her at all.

"You haven't called me with an update on my video," Kate said, "Have you made any progress?"

"Jesus Kate!" Santana said, trying to control the rise in her voice, "Can you stop thinking about that damn video for a minute?"

"I just want to know if what I'm paying for is being done," Kate said calmly.

"Well," Brittany said, "You still haven't paid me so, you really haven't paid for anything yet."

Santana wanted to smile, but didn't. She knew Kate would notice.

"I will pay you," Kate said, "After the video is done."

"I did some editing on it," Brittany said, "Give me until Wednesday and you'll have it complete."

"That long?" Kate asked.

In the distance Brittany heard the bell of the front door and before she could answer Kate, she saw Quinn approach their table, "Quinn!"

"Hey," Quinn said coming over, completely ignoring Santana and Kate, and giving Brittany a hug, "I got here early and figured I'd pick you up in person and not just in the car."

Great, Santana thought, Hipstermatic Princess is here.

"That's sweet," Brittany said, smiling. She was starting to get irritated with Kate, but seeing Quinn instantly put her in a great mood.

Quinn turned her attention to Kate and Santana, "Hi, ladies. How's it going?"

"Fine," Santana mumbled.

"Great," Kate said, "Brittany was just telling me she is going to have my video ready on Wednesday."

"I'm sure she will," Quinn said, "I've seen some of it already. It's great."

"It better be," Kate said with a forced smile.

Santana felt herself getting angry at Kate and even at Quinn for some reason. "Can we just stop with this video talk?" she asked.

Brittany turned to the table and gathered her things. She really wanted to leave.

"Right," Kate said, "We should go if we want to beat traffic to Pasadena and make that play." Kate turned to look at Quinn, "Do you and Brittany have plans too?"

"We're going out to dinner actually," Quinn said.

"Just the two of you?" Santana asked before she knew it.

"Yeah," Brittany said, "We're celebrating."

"Celebrating what?" Santana asked.

"New beginnings," Quinn answered with a smile.

What the fuck does that mean, Santana thought.

"Santana, we should go," Kate said impatiently.

"Celebrating, huh?" Santana asked putting on her jacket, "It's just that, I'd figure Brittany would be out on a date night with her boyfriend."

Santana saw Quinn give Brittany a sad look.

"Jesse and I broke up," Brittany admitted. She was really starting to hate announcing her break up to everyone.

"What?" Santana asked, not even trying to hide the surprise in her voice.

"We broke up," Brittany said again. The need to leave was getting greater, "Umm, Quinn and I have to go and you guys do too. I'll let you know when I get my grade for the paper."

"Come on Britt," Quinn said and hooked her arm through Brittany's. She turned to Santana and Kate, "Enjoy your play."

Brittany gave the couple a quick wave good bye and let Quinn lead her out of The Bean.

Kate began walking out the door but Santana didn't follow, "Santana! Let's go!"

Santana got her feet to move again and tried to process what had just happened.

###

Brittany looked over the menu in front of her and her eyes widened when she saw the prices.

"This place is really expensive," she said looking up at Quinn, "We didn't have to get sushi here. I know this other place where we can get some for half these prices."

"Don't worry abou it," Quinn said, "My treat."

"No way! It's too much. Like, are these designer fish or something?"

Quinn laughed, "I'll take care of the bill. It won't cost me a cent."

Brittany put her menu down and leaned in closer to Quinn, "Are we going to skip out on the bill?" she whispered, "Cause, I don't think I can do that."

"No, of course not," Quinn said, now really amused, "My mom owns this place. We're eating for free."

Brittany leaned back in her chair and let out a relieved breath, "Oh good because I don't think I could run fast in these sandals."

"You're cute," Quinn said shaking her head and smiling.

Brittany picked up her menu and hid her face from Quinn's view. She knew she was blushing and didn't want Quinn to see.

When the waitress came over, Brittany still didn't know what to get so she told Quinn to order for her. The waitress and Quinn talked for a little bit about school and then took their order.

"So you know everyone here?" Brittany asked.

"Yup. Practically grew up in this restaurant. Even learned how to make sushi from scratch."

"That's pretty cool," Brittany said, "The only thing I know how to cook is stuff I can put in a microwave."

"Maybe I'll make you some sushi sometime."

"I'd like that."

"So," Quinn began, "What did Holly tell you? You were supposed to call me after to tell me."

"I know," Brittany said, "But I wanted to tell you in person."

"What?"

Brittany didn't want to worry Quinn but she had to tell her, "Holly told me that Roz Washington wants to interview me, over the phone, and that if I don't totally blow that interview, one of the spots is mine."

"Brittany! That's amazing! I told you you'd get it!" When Quinn didn't see Brittany more excited about the news, she went on, "Is there a 'but' in there somewhere?"

"Holly told me that Roz really thinks you're talented but..."

Quinn leaned back in her chair, a worried look on her face.

"...she said that Roz wasn't sure hiring two people from the same school would be a good idea. That she's trying to decide between you and some guy from Chicago. Which is stupid because you're amazing and she would be crazy to not hire you. But don't worry, when I talk to her I'll try to convince her to hire you and..."

"Whoa, Britt stop," Quinn siad reaching across the table and taking Brittany's hands, "Don't do that. That interview is about you. Not me."

"But if they don't hire you..."

"Then I'll do something else," Quinn said, "Don't worry about me."

"Well I am. Worried," Brittany said, "I want this job but I also want you to get it so we can go to New York together."

"Me too," Quinn admitted, "But, let's just see what happens OK? Wait, is that why they wanted me to turn in another video? To decide between me and that Chicago guy?"

"Yes. So we have to make sure we turn in a good one so you can get that job."

Quinn smiled and squeezed Brittany's hand before letting go, "You mean _I_ have to make sure _I_ turn in a good video."

"Right, right," Brittany said, "I mean 'you', not 'we'." But she didn't. Brittany really did mean to say 'we' because, even though they had known each other for a short while, Brittany already thought of them as a team.

"Good," Quinn said, "Well, now that I know our time together may be limited, I wanted ask you something."

"What?"

Quinn seemed to get really nervous all of a sudden, "Well, I know it's really soon, I mean after your bre...umm, I like you Brittany."

"I like you too," she said smiling.

"No, I..."

Brittany's phone vibrated on the table, "Opps, sorry. It's Mercedes. She keeps texting me names of people I should go out with."

"She is? Why?"

"She says that I need a rebound hook up because I broke up with Jesse."

"A rebound?"

"Yeah," Brittany said rolling her eyes, "She says since I dated Jesse for so long, I'm out of practice in dating so she's texting me names of people I should date for like practice before I date someone for real. You know, for fun."

Brittany noticed Quinn's shoulder's slump a little and almost didn't her her when she said a simple, 'Oh'.

"Anyway," Brittany said, putting her phone in her purse, "Sorry. What were you saying?"

"Umm, nothing," Quinn said shaking her head, "Never mind."

"Are you sure?"

Quinn didn't answer. Their first order of sushi had arrived.

###

Santana sat in her seat watching the actors on stage but wasn't paying attention. She couldn't stop thinking about Brittany telling her she had broken up with her boyfriend and the fact that Brittany was having dinner with Quinn.

Quinn. Just thinking about that girl made Santana narrow her eyes. She was sure Quinn had a thing for Brittany. It was so obvious just by the way Hipstermatic Princess looked at her. So much for professionalism, Santana thought.

Not that she was surprised. Brittany was probably the sweetest person at the school. When she had first seen Brittany at the lecture, Santana had thought her cute. Now that she had spent more time with her and had really gotten a chance to see her, Santana had to admit that Brittany was also beautiful. So yeah, she really couldn't blame Quinn at all.

But Santana didn't even know for sure if Brittany was into girls. She had been with her boyfriend for a long time, it seems, so for all Santana knew Brittany was straight and Quinn would just continue to bark up the wrong tree. Santana always prided herself in having great gaydar and her senses were telling her Brittany wasn't entirely straight. She would bet her degree that Brittany was at least Bi.

Santana sighed. This was none of her business and hated that she couldn't stop thinking about the whole situation. She was sure Brittany was probably still getting over her break up and vulture Quinn wasn't wasting any time. Santana just wanted to make sure her student didn't get distracted from her studies. That had to be it.

She sat up straighter and tried to concentrate on the play. She looked over to her right and saw that Kate was practically enthralled watching the actors. Santana looked back at the stage and had no idea what was happening.

The longer she sat in her seat, the more she wondered why she was even still with Kate. It really felt like a job sometimes, being with her. Everyone always told her how perfect they looked together and at first Santana believed them. But now? Now, the novelty was wearing off.

Sugar and Tina really liked Kate and constantly told Santana to hold on to her.

"Yeah, right," Santana said softly.

"What?" Kate asked, "Did you say something?"

"No, sorry," Santana said softly.

Santana knew she wasn't in love with Kate and, after months of dating, she knew she never would be. She had told herself a while back that she'd at least try to be with Kate until graduation. Now however, she wondered if these next two months were just too much to endure.

-**tbc**-


	9. Sugar Rush

The one thing Brittany hated about David Martinez was that he always graded papers really fast. The class would turn in an assignment one day and he'd have it graded within two days. She hated that because it just meant she'd get her bad grad faster.

Not this time though. This time she was actually looking forward to getting back her paper and with 10 minutes left before class ended, David announced he'd be passing them back.

"Most of you did very well," David said. He began to walk through the row of desks, handing students their paper as he talked, "Some of you did average. And some of you, well, let's just say that you should be happy there are two more of these papers you have to write before the semester is over."

Brittany tried to swallow but found that her throat was really dry. She couldn't help but think that the last remark was aimed at her. She couldn't fail this paper. It was impossible, not when Santana had helped her.

Santana was the top student in the department, and one of the top students in the whole school, so Brittany was sure David wasn't talking about her with his last statement. Maybe.

Brittany watched as her teacher handed Mercedes her paper and saw her friend smile. Brittany smiled too. If she couldn't be happy for herself, she could be happy for Mercedes.

When David got to Brittany, he stopped, "See me after class, Brittany."

She nodded.

David passed her without giving her anything. She turned to look at Mercedes who had a confused look on her face. Brittany just shrugged.

Was it that bad, she wondered.

She was really worried now. If she didn't get a good grade on this, she would be letting Santana down. She would have wasted her time and Brittany hated to think that Santana would maybe feel like she had been a bad teacher.

She hadn't talked to or seen Santana since their last tutoring session. There were times when Brittany almost called her, but she didn't.

It turned out that Brittany didn't have to find an excuse to contact Santana because Santana had contacted her. On the day her paper was due, Santana had sent her a simple text message.

_Good Luck Brittany! - SL_

Brittany had smiled when she read it. She was really surprised Santana had remembered.

"OK, that's everyone," David said, snapping Brittany out of her memory, "I'll see you all next week."

The room was suddenly filled with the noise of students talking and gathering their things.

"What did he say?" Mercedes asked.

"He wants to see me," Brittany said, "Maybe it was so bad that he was afraid I'd have meltdown in front of everyone."

"Come on, girl," Mercedes said, "No way you did bad on this paper. Not with Santana helping you."

Brittany took a breath. The last of the students were now leaving the class.

"Want me to wait for you?" Mercedes asked.

"No, no," Brittany said, "I don't want you to be late to your music class. I'll text you later."

"OK, you better," Mercedes said.

"Oh, hey what'd you get?"

"Got myself good old fashion 'B'," Mercedes said proudly.

"That's awesome!"

"Call me," Mercedes said and turned to leave. She was the last student out the door.

Brittany grabbed her bag and went over to David's desk.

"Brittany," David said, "I read your paper."

"Please don't tell me you're giving me something lower than a 'F' because I don't even think you can do that," Brittany said.

To Brittany's surprise, David laughed, "You did not fail, Brittany." He handed Brittany her paper.

Brittany's eyes felt like they were going to pop out of their sockets. There, at the top of the page in red, was a big 'A'.

"Holly shit!" Brittany shouted. She suddenly realized what what she had just said and brought her hand to cover her mouth.

"Curse all you want," David encouraged. He didn't seem offended at all, he was still smiling.

"Sorry David," Brittany said, "It's just that, wow, I don't think I've ever gotten an 'A' on an English paper before."

"Sorry if I scared you," David said, "I just wanted to talk to you about it. So I guess Finn Hudson really helped you out."

"Umm, no," Brittany said, "I sort of fired him."

"So you did this on your own?" David asked surprised.

"Oh, no way! Santana Lopez tutored me."

"Santana?" The look of shock on his face almost made Brittany laugh, "Now, that's a surprise."

"I got lucky," Brittany said as she put the paper in her bag, "Umm, sorry but can I go?"

"Yes, sure," David said, "Congratulations Brittany. Great job. Listen, I know you're struggling in this class, but if you can write the remaining two papers like this one, you'll pass this class."

"I will," Brittany said.

"Good. Now, next paper I want you to pick an American author. No more exceptions, OK?"

"Got it."

Brittany left her class and headed to the film department. She couldn't wait to tell Santana.

###

Santana knew she was being a coward.

She looked around the table at The Bean and watched as Kate told a story about some disastrous production she had been a part in during her Freshman year. Tina, Sugar, Puck and Kurt were laughing and loving every thing that came out of Kate's mouth. Her friends really liked Kate and Santana knew they'd be upset if she broke up with her. No, Santana thought, _when_ I break up with her.

At least she knew Sam wouldn't be upset. He never really liked Kate all that much. She really needed to call him and talk to him about this.

The thing with Kate was that she could make people like her when she wanted. She'd be charming, sweet and even nice. It had taken Santana all four months of their dating to finally see how Kate really worked. Now, going into their fifth month of dating, Santana found that she really hated it.

"Is that crazy?" Kate ask, finishing her story.

"You have the best stories!" Sugar said, "Hey, maybe you can come on my show for some of the final episodes and tell them!"

"I'd love to do that!" Kate said, excited that'd she would be on camera, "Just tell me when."

Santana wondered if Kate had always been this self-absorbed and she just didn't notice before.

"I will, in a couple of weeks," Sugar said, "I'm planning my farewell show right now. I still can't believe I'm graduating."

"I know!" Puck said, "We're having a graduation party right?"

"Of course," Sugar said, "I am planning the whole thing."

"Of course you are," Kurt said, "There's nothing like a Sugar Motta party!"

"Damn straight!" Sugar said.

"Are we having it at your house?" Tina asked.

"Sadly, no," Sugar said letting out a breath, "Motta family reunion all next month so my house is off limits. But, I did manage to convince a friend of mine to let us use her parent's house while they're away on some cruise."

"Who?" Santana asked.

"Rachel Berry."

"Seriously?" Santana asked, "How in the hell did you convince her to let us use her parent's house?"

"Well, we have to help her put all the furniture in storage and clean up afterwards, but she didn't need much convincing. Says she wants to have at least one crazy college night before she graduates."

"It's always the quiet ones," Puck said with a smirk.

Santana felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She took it out and read the newly arrived text.

_Are you busy? I just got my English paper back. - BP_

Santana looked around the table and saw that everyone was now listening to Sugar talk about what she planned for their graduation party.

_Not busy. What did you get? - SL_

Santana hit send and felt butterflies in her stomach waiting for Brittany to reply. She knew the paper was great, but she still couldn't help but worry.

_I'd rather show you. Are you on campus? We can meet at The Bean in like 10 minutes. - BP_

Santana quickly replied back. She didn't want Brittany coming here.

_I'm on campus but let's meet somewhere else. The football field? It's empty around this time. 50 yard line. 15 minutes.- SL_

_I'll be there! - BP_

Santana put her phone away and looked around the table. No one had noticed anything. She wasn't sure why the feeling she was doing something wrong washed over her. She was just going to see her student but the idea of Kate knowing that made her anxious.

"I have to go," Santana said getting up, "I forgot I have to, umm, I have to go see Sylvester."

"You're leaving?" Kate asked surprised, "I thought we were spending the rest of the afternoon together. And besides, you said you were done with all that cheerleading stuff."

"I know, I'm sorry," Santana said, "Just a few things I have to take care of."

Kate just shook her head and turned her attention to her salad.

"Really?" Kurt asked, "I checked Sue's schedule yesterday and I could have sworn I saw she had…."

"Change of plans!" Santana interrupted, mentally kicking her self. She shouldn't have used Sue as an excuse when Kurt was around. She shouldn't even be using any excuse. She was just meeting Brittany for fuck's sake. There was nothing wrong with that. "I'll see you guys later."

Santana left The Bean and headed straight to the football field. She knew that if Kate found out she was meeting Brittany, it would probably lead to her asking about that damn video or her, again, questioning why she was tutoring Brittany. She didn't what to deal with that.

As she approached the field she saw a figure doing handless cartwheels. Santana smiled.

Brittany hadn't done cartwheels in a really long time and was glad to find out she hadn't forgotten how. However, she had forgotten how much she loved doing them.

"We could have used you on the squad!" Santana shouted as she approached.

Brittany landed on her feet after her last cartwheel and fixed her hair. She smiled as she saw Santana approach, "Hey."

"That's amazing!" Santana said, "You're only the third person I've met that can do handless cartwheels."

"I took gymnastics when I was little," Brittany said, "I actually haven't done them in a long time. I just wanted to check if I still could."

"Well, you had perfect formation," Santana complimented.

"Thank you."

Santana looked at Brittany and found the light flush in her face from doing the cartwheels made her look sort of adorable. She knew she was staring too long and cleared her throat, "So, you got your paper back?"

"Yes!" Brittany said, going over to her bag on the floor, "He gave it to me today." Brittany took out her paper and went over to Santana but didn't give her it to her.

"Well?" Santana asked, the suspense was building up in her. She looked at Brittany's face for any trace of a clue about the grade but Brittany's face was without expression. "Brittany!"

Brittany handed her paper over to Santana and waited.

Santana's eyes immediately fell on the big 'A' at the the top of the page. "I told you! Fuck yeah!"

Brittany laughed.

Santana was so happy that it was almost as if she had gotten the grade. Actually, if Santana really thought about, she never got this happy when she got a good grade. But knowing how much Brittany was struggling and knowing she had helped her, made Santana feel happier than she had in a really long time.

"Thank you," Brittany said, "You have no idea how much you helped me."

Before Santana could say something she saw Brittany get closer and bring her in for a hug. "Umm, you're welcome Britt."

Brittany wrapped her arms around Santana's waist and hugged her tight. She knew she she was invading her personal space, but she didn't care. She wanted to show Santana just how grateful she was. Brittany took in a breath and Santana's perfume filled her nostrils. She always knew Santana would smell amazing and it was nice that she was finally proven right.

Santana stiffened for a moment when Brittany hugged her. It was just so unexpected. She didn't really like hugging and even Kate didn't hug her all that much. The way Brittany held her around her waist, however, relaxed her and Santana instinctively wrapped her arms around Brittany's neck. She found herself really liking the hug and the smell of Brittany's hair.

Before letting her go, Brittany picked up Santana a little higher so her feet were off the ground and twirled them around.

Santana laughed.

"Thanks again," Brittany said letting go of Santana and stepping back.

"Any time."

"I guess I owe you."

"Yes, you do," Santana said, smiling and giving Brittany back her paper.

"I think the cafeteria sells banana splits," Brittany said, "If you want to do this now."

The idea of having their celebratory ice cream in the school cafeteria sounded horrible to Santana. No, this called for a better place. "That place sucks."

"OK. Umm…Oh! There's a Baskin-Robbins on 3rd."

Santana thought that wasn't good enough either, which was dumb because that was an actual ice cream shop. She shook her head.

"Häagen-Dazs?"

"No, Britt. I don't really feel like going anywhere."

"Do you want me to, like, just give you cash so you can buy your banana split?" Brittany asked, not sure what Santana wanted.

Santana let out a chuckle, "What? No. I don't want cash. Listen, how about we have our banana splits at my place."

"Your building sells ice cream?"

If this had been anyone else, Santana was sure she would have already gotten annoyed, but she found Brittany's constant state of confusion sweet.

"No," Santana said, "I over did it shopping for fruits and vegetables yesterday and I bought a bunch of bananas because they were on sale. So I just thought, why have them go to waste. You could just make me my banana split."

Brittany finally understood what Santana was saying and it made her heart feel like it was beating in her throat. "So…umm, you want me, you want me to come to your place?"

Santana shrugged her shoulders, "Yeah. I mean, unless you're not comfortable."

"Oh no, I am." Brittany said quickly, "I just, I thought I was buying, like from an actual store."

"Well, I only have bananas," Santana explained, "You still have to buy the ice cream. Same thing. Sort of."

Brittany crossed her arms. This was another of those fantasy scenarios she had had in the past involving Santana. She couldn't remember the exact story she had come up with in her head, but it did end with Santana asking her over to her place. Whatever the fantasy had been, she was sure it didn't involve ice cream.

"Umm yeah, OK," Brittany agreed, "When?"

"Tomorrow. Like around six?"

"That sounds good," Brittany said, "I don't have your address, though."

"I'll text it to you," Santana said, "OK, so now that'd we're all set, I have to go. I'm really proud of you Brittany."

Brittany looked down at the ground, "I only did well because of you."

"No," Santana said bending her head down trying to make Brittany look at her, "You wrote that paper. Not me."

Brittany looked into Santana's eyes and smiled. Looking into her eyes, Brittany felt like she could really accomplish anything. "OK."

"I'll see you tomorrow," Santana said and turned to leave.

Brittany stayed behind. She felt like she needed to do more cartwheels to burn off some of the nervous energy she felt.

As she walked away, Santana chanced a look back at Brittany and smiled. She took out her phone created a reminder to go to the market to buy bananas.

###

Brittany had gone straight to the editing room after the football field. She had already texted Mercedes her grade and she wanted to tell Quinn too. When she did, Quinn didn't seem all that surprised.

"I knew you could do it!" Quinn said, hugging Brittany.

"Thanks!" Brittany said pulling back, "I still can't believe I got an 'A'!"

"I can," Quinn said.

"Thanks," Brittany said softly, "But enough about me. Let's look at the video you're going to send in to Roz Washington."

After about 20 minutes Brittany hit the eject button and took out the DVD.

"That was really good Quinn," Brittany said, "You'll totally get the job."

Quinn still looked doubtful, "I'm proud of it but it's too similar to the other two videos I sent. I feel like I should send them something different."

"The cheer video!" Brittany almost shouted, "You worked on that more than me. It's mostly your work."

"Brittany, that's your work too," Quinn said, "We both worked on it and it wouldn't be fair to you or the studio."

"I don't care if you take all the credit," Brittany said, "You really did most of the editing." Brittany began to type on the computer keyboard bringing up the cheer video and showed Quinn the credits, "See, I even put your name first."

"You didn't have to do that Britt," Quinn said softly.

"Yes, I did," Brittany said, "Or if you want, we, I mean you, can send the video you just showed me _and_ the cheer video."

"You think that'll be enough?"

"I do," Brittany said.

Quinn leaned in and gave Brittany a quick kiss on he cheek, "Thanks. You're actually making me feel better about this whole thing."

Brittany wasn't sure what to do. Even though the kiss had been quick and very innocent, Brittany felt like the spot where Quinn had kissed her was heating up. "Umm, yeah. No problem." Brittany got up, feeling like the room was getting too warm, "I have to go. I'm going to go give Kate her video."

"You finished it?" Quinn asked as she too got up.

"Last night," Brittany said, "I was going to give her a rough copy but I just did the whole thing. I hope she doesn't get too mad."

"Why?"

"I ignored all her suggestions and did it my way," Brittany said.

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"No, that's OK."

Once she had all her things, Brittany left the room.

###

"You're breaking up with her?"

Sam's voice seemed to echo through the library, "Shhh!" Santana warned, "Not so loud."

"You're breaking up with her?" Sam asked again, in a whisper.

"I'm thinking about it, yes." Santana had called Sam after seeing Brittany. She really needed to talk about her relationship with Kate.

"Good," Sam said, "I've always hated that bitch."

"Hey!" Santana said smacking Sam in the arm, "She's still my girlfriend. Don't talk about her like that."

"Sorry, but she is," Sam said, "I always thought you could do better."

"She's not that bad," Santana said feeling like she had defend Kate. There had to be something good about her for Santana to date for for almost five months. Because if there wasn't, what did that say about her?

"When are you going to do it?"

"Why? You want to watch?" Santana asked sarcastically.

"Can I?"

"No, you asshole!"

Sam narrowed his eyes, "Is there someone else?"

"No," Santana said quickly, "There doesn't have to be someone else. I just feel like my time with Kate is done."

"I could have told you that months ago." Sam said.

"Would you stop, already."

"Fine, fine." Sam said raising his hands in surrender, "I seriously don't know why you stayed with her for so long."

"It wasn't that long," Santana said, "We've only been going out for like five months. Actually more like four months and a week. And, the first few months we were together, she was great. But this past month she's just..."

"She's showing her true colors?" Sam asked.

"I guess," Santana said, "But, come on, we are the "It" lesbian couple at this school. Everyone is always coming up to us saying how perfect we are together."

"Not me," Sam said.

"Yes, not you," Santana said.

"I thought you were just going to, you know, have fun with her and after like a week, move on," Sam said, "But then out of nowhere you asked her to be your girlfriend."

Santana thought back to that day when she had asked Kate to be her girlfriend. It was a nice moment, but Santana was starting to realize she had gotten caught up in being the "Popular Celebrity Couple" of the school and how being together was extremely beneficial for both of them in the social circles at ULA.

"Let's just get back to studying OK?" Santana said opening her book.

Santana tried to concentrate, but couldn't. All she could think about was how and when she would break up with Kate. She was not looking forward to it, but she knew she had to do it.

###

_"You have reached your destination."_

Brittany parked her car and turned off her GPS. It had taken her less than 10 minutes to get to Santana's building. She grabbed the shopping bag filled with suplies she'd need to make banana splits and got out of the car.

After meeting with Kate yesterday, Brittany had gone straight to the market to get her ice cream supplies. Brittany wondered what Kate would say knowing that some of the money she had paid her was used to buy ice cream for Santana.

When she had given Kate her video, Brittany told her all her suggestions had been ignored. Of course, Kate was upset but Brittany insisted she watch the video and that she would like it. And Kate did. Brittany was happy to take her money and be done with working with the actress. Never again, she thought.

Santana lived on the first floor of the three story building and her apartment was easy to find. Brittany took a deep breath. She couldn't believe she was about to knock on Santana's door.

Santana took one last look around her apartment to make sure it was clean. As soon as she got back from school she had gone on a cleaning frenzy. She didn't want this place looking like a mess when Brittany showed up.

As she was about to double check the bathroom again and make sure it was clean, there was a knock on her door. Santana couldn't understand why she was so anxious about Brittany coming over, but she was.

She took a deep breath and opened the door, "Hey."

"Hi!" Brittany said. She lifted the bag she was carrying, "I'm here to pay my debt."

"Come in," Santana said stepping aside and letting Brittany in, "The kitchen is straight ahead."

Brittany smiled and stepped into Santana's small living room. Never in a million years would she have thought she'd ever be in here. It was a lot smaller than she imagined, but cozy. There was a living room, a kitchen and two doors on the far right which she assumed where the bathroom and bedroom.

"I like your place," Brittany said walking over to the kitchen and placing the bag on the table.

Santana followed Brittany, "Thanks. It's not much but I like it."

Brittany turned to face Santana and saw that she, again looked like she was heading out for a night on the town. She wasn't really wearing anything fancy, but the cut-off jean shorts, boots, and black V-neck T-shirt she was wearing looked almost glamorous.

"You have plans later?" Brittany asked as she began to take out the contents of the bag.

"You mean, other than watching you make me a banana split as I gloat?" Santana teased, "No, I don't. Why?"

"You look like you do."

Santana looked down at her outfit, "This? You think this is a 'going out' outfit?"

"Sure," Brittany said, "It's sexy."

There was that flush of embarrassment Santana had felt at the cafe coming back full force, "Umm, OK. Thanks?" She wasn't sure why she had phrased that last word in a sentence.

"You're welcome?" Brittany asked back.

"What about you?" Santana asked raising an eyebrow, "You're not exactly dressed like a bum either. Do you have plans after this?"

Brittany had spent half an hour trying to decide what to wear. She wasn't even sure why. She had opted to wear black jeans, Converse, a pink shirt and her baby ducks tie. "No, I don't."

"You sure love those ties," Santana said with a small laugh, "I think that was the one you were wearing when we first met."

"Is it?" Brittany asked even though she knew the answer.

"It's hard to forget when, you know, you fell asleep," Santana teased.

Brittany smiled remembering, "Oh right."

"You better not fall asleep on me here," Santana said, "Or I will draw on your face with a Sharpie."

Brittany's eyes widened, "You wouldn't?"

"Try me," Santana said, with a smirk.

Brittany wasn't sure if Santana was serious but she didn't want to find out. And besides, no way would she be able to fall asleep here. She was already buzzing with too much energy just being in Santana's apartment. She needed to get back on track. "OK so, I got ice cream. Vanilla and chocolate because I forgot to ask you what you liked best, so I bought both. I also got sprinkles, whip cream, chocolate syrup and cherries. I also bought banana split bowls, cause I figured you didn't have any. But you said you had the bananas, right?"

Santana had been enjoying watching Brittany's look of horror at hearing she'd draw on her face, that she almost missed what Brittany had said. "Right, yeah. Vanilla. Bananas." She went over to the counter by the sink and brought back two bananas and the ice cream scooper.

Brittany began to make the banana splits when she noticed that Santana had sat down and was just watching her, "Umm, I can do this if you have other stuff to do or just want to watch some TV."

Santana shook her head, "Nope. I'm staying right here. Gloating, remember?"

Brittany just nodded and began to prepare their desserts. She felt a little nervous with Santana watching her but she also found that she liked it. For so long she had wanted Santana to notice her and now that she had, she wanted to enjoy it while she still could.

Santana watched as Brittany peeled the bananas and almost felt bad for not helping, but Brittany did lose a bet. Besides, she found that she liked watching Brittany as she worked. Brittany's hands grabbed this and that and Santana couldn't help but notice that Brittany actually had really beautiful hands. They looked graceful. Can hands even look graceful, she wondered. But they did and she figured it had to do with Brittany's really long fingers.

Santana suddenly shifted in her seat, stopping the thoughts that were sure to follow, "So Britt. What did Martinez say when he gave you back you paper."

"He was proud," Brittany said, scooping out some vanilla ice cream, "And that if I can write the remaining two papers for the class just like that one, I'll pass."

"That's awesome," Santana said.

Brittany stopped working and looked at Santana, "Yeah, but, honestly, I don't think I can do those two other papers on my own and I know we did this sort of tutoring trade and I can find someone else, but like, I really like they way you teach and…"

"Whoa, Britt, slow down," Santana stopped Brittany's rambling, "Do you want me to help you with the other two papers?"

Brittany let out a breath, "Yes, please. And I'll pay you this time."

"No," Santana said.

"No you won't help me?"

"Yes. I mean, no," Santana said, "Wait. Yes, I will help you. No, I don't want you to pay me."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," Santana said and smiled, "I don't want your money. I just want to help you."

Just like on the field, Brittany had the sudden urge to hug Santana. She moved over to where she was seated and leaned down and hugged her. It was awkward, but nice, "Thank you so much!" she said into Santana's hair and got a whiff of that perfume she really liked.

Santana watched Brittany come to her but wasn't expecting the hug and when Brittany bent down, she was sure her heart started beating faster than it should. Brittany was hugging her in such a way that Santana's arms were pinned to her side so she really couldn't hug her back. When Brittany's hot breath hit her ear, she was sure she shivered.

"Thank you," Brittany said again, letting go and going back to her side of the table, "But at least let me buy you lunch or dinner."

Santana ran her hand over her arms and felt small goosebumps on them. It was a strange thing because she wasn't cold. In fact she was feeling too warm, "Umm, dinner. Dinner is good."

"Awesome!" Brittany said getting back to work on their banana splits. She was already thinking of where to take Santana. Italian, Mexican or maybe she could ask Quinn if she'd give them a discount at her mom's restaurant.

Santana got up and walked to the refrigerator. She felt like she needed to step away from Brittany for a little bit. She couldn't deny she had a strange reaction to the hug. What was that, she wondered, I probably just need to hug more people.

"You want some water Brittany?" Santana asked.

"Sure," Brittany said, "I'm almost done and ice cream makes me super thirsty for some reason."

"Me too," Santana said and took out two waters.

After a few more minutes, Brittany was done.

"Ta da!"

"Wow," Santana said, sitting down across from Brittany, "That's really impressive. They look like they belong on the Food Network or something."

"I can't cook real food at all," Brittany said, "But I can make desserts look pretty."

"They look too pretty to eat," Santana said, "But they also look really damn good."

"Thanks," Brittany said with a laugh. She looked around the table, "We do need spoons though. Unless you want to have one of those eating competitions where they tie your hands behind your back."

"Right!" Santana said getting up and going to the drawer to get two spoons. As she handed Brittany her's, she got an idea, "How about we do have one of those competitions?"

"Excuse me?" Brittany asked, noticing the mischievous smile on Santana's face.

"I bet you, I can eat this banana split faster than you." Santana said. In reality, Santana wasn't even sure she could eat half of this but something about Brittany made her feel more playful and carefree. Santana found that she liked this side of herself.

Brittany looked at Santana trying to see if there were any signs of her joking. She was smiling but in a playful way. Santana really was a totally different person when they were alone. The public person she had had a crush on for all this time was fake and Brittany was slowly getting over those feelings. It was a good thing because Cheerleader Santana was just a character and Brittany had been front and center to witness the transformation when she filmed Santana for the cheer video.

But this Santana? The one who wanted to help her, the one who wanted to play games and was nice to her? This Santana was real and Brittany found herself liking her. A lot. But she knew she had to be careful. Brittany was finally getting over her crush on Cheerleader Santana and she couldn't have one on the Real Santana. Not when she would probably be moving to New York. She wouldn't allow herself to think about someone she could never have.

"Santana, come on. We can't do that. For one, it's way too much ice cream, and two, I'll win and you'll be humiliated." Brittany teased.

"Is that right?" Santana responded.

"Yup."

"Alright, Brittany. Let's do this," Santana said bringing her banana split closer.

Brittany brought her own banana split closer, "OK, rules. You can use your spoon or mouth but no hands on the ice cream!"

"Got it. You ready?" Santana asked.

"Ready."

"OK. 1...2...3...GO!"

Santana began to shove spoonfuls of ice cream into her mouth in a frantic pace. She looked up and saw Brittany do the same.

Everything seemed to be a blur of ice cream, syrup and sprinkles. The kitchen table was soon covered in banana split toppings and everything was just one big mess.

"Grrrrr! Brain freeze!" Brittany yelled.

Santana was about to laugh when she too experienced her very own brain freeze."Holy shit!"

They kept going. Santana saw her bowl and estimated that all she needed was two more mouthfuls.

"DONE!" Brittany yelled, putting her spoon down and raising her hands over her head.

"What?" Santana was stunned. She looked at Brittany's bowl and sure enough she had finished everything. Santana had lost by a mere two spoonfuls.

"Shit!" Santana cursed.

"Whoohoo! See, I told you!" Brittany said, chocolate syrup all over her mouth.

Santana started laughing. Soon Brittany was laughing too.

"I'll beat you next time," Santana said after her laughter had subsided.

"Right," Brittany said not believing her.

"You got a little something on your chin," Santana said pointing to her own.

"You got a lot of something all over your face," Brittany playfully fired back.

Another wave of laughter hit Santana and when she calmed down saw the big mess they had made, "Fuck, look at all this."

Brittany looked down at her duck tie and saw it was covered in ice cream, "On no!"

"Damn," Santana said, "Here, give it to me. The laundry room is just down the hall. I can put it in the wash, I mean unless it's like silk or something."

"No, it's just cotton." Brittany looked down at her pink shirt, "Umm can you wash my shirt too? I got chocolate syrup all over it."

"Yeah sure," Santana said, "I guess I should throw my shirt in there too. We should have worn bibs." Santana extended her hand, "Give me your clothes."

Brittany was sure she momentarily lost the power to talk, "Umm, I uh..."

"Oh, right," Santana said shaking her head, "You need something to wear. Umm, I'll be right back."

Santana felt like an idiot. Of course Brittany wasn't going to just take off her shirt like that. She went to the bathroom first to wash her face then went to her room and quickly changed into a clean shirt. She took out her favorite large ULA sweatshirts to give to Brittany. When she went back to the kitchen she saw that Brittany had taken off her tie.

"You can were this."

"Thanks," Brittany said, taking the sweatshirt, "Where's the bathroom?"

"Shit, right, sorry," Santana said, "Right through that door on the left.

Once Brittany was gone, Santana began to clean up, "The fuck is wrong with me?" she asked herself.

Brittany washed her face and changed quickly. The sweatshirt actually fit her a little big and wondered if this was even Santana's. When she went back to the kitchen she saw Santana typing away on her phone.

"I can wash this at home, if you have to be somewhere," Brittany said.

Santana had gotten a text from Kate asking if she could come over. That was the last thing she wanted so she sent Kate a message back that she wasn't feeling well and was maybe getting a cold. Santana knew that would keep her away.

"Would you stop thinking I have other plans," Santana said putting her phone away, "We made plans. I'm not going anywhere."

Santana's words made Brittany happy, "Sorry. So, here are my clothes."

"I'll be right back," Santana said, "I'll finish cleaning up when I get back. The remote for the TV is on the coffee table if you want to watch something."

When Santana left, Brittany started cleaning up. By the time Santana came back Brittany was sitting on the couch with the TV on.

"Hopefully it doesn't stain," Santana said, "I'll go clean..."

"Nope, did that already," Brittany said changing the channel, "Your kitchen is spotless and you now have supplies so you can make like 10 banana splits."

"Brittany you didn't have to clean up."

"Don't worry about it," Brittany said, "You're washing my clothes and helping me with my class. It's the least I can do."

Santana went to sit next to Brittany. She turned to face her, "Is English the only class you need help with?"

Brittany stopped channel surfing and turned her attention to Santana, "Just that one. I just, I can't fail that class. If I do, I'll be four credits short for graduation and I won't get my diploma on time. I have to graduate this May so I can get that spot."

Santana hated seeing the worry in Brittany's eyes, "Don't worry. That's what I'm here for." Santana wanted to reach out and hold Brittany's hand but she didn't, "What spot?"

"Holly has a friend in New York that will have five spots available to work in her studio this summer and she said that I am guaranteed a spot but only if I graduate on time."

"A movie studio?"

"Yeah!" Brittany said a little too loudly. She felt really fidgety all of a sudden and was sure she was in the middle of a sugar rush, "It would be an amazing opportunity to get my career started! And I can't blow it. I can't fail."

Santana saw Brittany's eyes start to water and couldn't stop herself from taking Brittany's hands in hers, "Hey, hey. Listen to me. You are not going to fail, OK? You are going to get this summer job at this studio and you're going to kick ass."

Brittany felt a tear roll down her cheek but couldn't wipe it away because Santana was holding her hands. "OK."

Santana let go of Brittany's hands and went to wipe the tear from Brittany's cheek, "No crying after ice cream. That's another rule."

Brittany let out a small laugh and wiped her eyes, "No crying."

"Look Brittany, I know this is hard but..."

The sound of a ringing phone interrupted.

"Oh sorry," Brittany said, "That's me." She looked at the screen and didn't recognize the number. She answered the call anyway, "Hello?"

"Brittany S. Pierce!"

"Umm, yeah? Who is this?" Brittany asked.

"This is Roz Washington. Award winning filmmaker, champion swimmer, successful businesswoman. "

Brittany bolted off from the coach, startling Santana. "Miss Washington. Hi, how...how are you?"

"Fantastic! Listen Hollywood girl. Holly keeps getting on my case about hiring you. Your films are just the type of award winning work I need on my team. One question though. You got your head on straight?"

"My head is fine," Brittany said not really sure what this woman was asking, "It's not crooked or anything."

Santana listened to Brittany's end of the conversation and nothing made sense. Who was Brittany talking to, she wondered.

"Good," Roz said, "I've known Holly for years and if she says you're good, you're good. Congratulations Honey Pot, job is yours. But you better show up here with that diploma or I'll send your ass packing back to La La Land."

Brittany jumped up in place and tried with all her might to stop for squealing, "Thank you Ms. Washington. I'll be there with everything you need."

"Good," Roz said, "Times ticking away. Gotta get those spots filled up."

Brittany stood still. She really wanted to talk to Roz about Quinn but she remembered what Quinn had said. This was not about her. But Brittany couldn't help it. Now that she had the job, she felt like she had to do her best to help her friend.

"Umm, Ms. Washington," Brittany began, "Did you happen to get the extra videos from Quinn Fabray this afternoon?"

At the mention of Quinn's name Santana stood up. Was Hipster Princess up for this summer job too, she wondered. It was seriously starting to annoy Santana that Quinn seemed to be practically attached at Brittany's hip, even when she wasn't around.

"I did," Roz said, "That cheer video was really good. She worked on that?"

"Yes ma'am," Brittany said, "She did most of the editing and I did most of the filming."

"I really liked it," Roz said, "Could have used something like that for my swim team. Both of you worked on that together, right?"

"Yes we did."

"Hmm," Roz said, "I did like that other artsy video she sent. Almsot made me cry. Almost." Roz stayed quiet for few seconds, "Alright, listen up. This tag film team you got going on with Fabray is sourly needed around here. She's in."

"Oh my God! You wont' regret it. I promise!" Brittany said unable to control the big smile on her face.

Despite not knowing what was happening, seeing Brittany smile like that made Santana smile. Whatever it was, thrilled Brittany.

"But don't say anything!" Roz warned, "I like to break the news to people myself. You tell her before I do and the whole thing is off."

"Don't worry, I won't say a word!"

"Alright, Honey Pot. You'll get an email with more info soon. Have a good night," Roz said and hung up before Brittany could say anything.

Brittany threw the phone on the couch.

"What?" Santana asked, "What the hell just happened?"

"That was the New York studio lady," Brittany explained, "I got the job!"

"Brittany, that's great!" Santana said and to her utter surprised actually hugged Brittany, "Congratulations."

"Thank you," Brittany said, hugging her back, "I can't believe it!"

With Santana wearing boots, she was the same height as Brittany and was able to wrap her arms Brittany's neck without difficulty. She felt Brittany's arms wrap around her waist and felt her breath on her neck. Instinctively, Santana closed her eyes and breathed in he smell of Brittany's hair. She seriously couldn't ever remember anyone having such great smelling hair. She knew she was hugging Brittany longer than necessary, but she couldn't seem to pull away. She was really starting to like hugging and also wanted Brittany to hug her back just a little longer.

Brittany was still processing the good news that it took her a few seconds to realize Santana was hugging her. She had never expected to be hugging Santana. Ever. But this was their third hug in two days. Brittany tightened the hug just a little bit more and fought the urge to bury her face in Santana's neck. There was that sweet smell or her perfume again. She had to ask Santana what she used because it was seriously the best smell in the world. Brittany was reminded of flowers and the ocean and everything she liked smelling.

Brittany felt a strange feeling in her stomach and her mouth felt like it was producing too much saliva. She recognized the feeling. "Uh, Santana?"

Santana squeezed her already closed eyes a little more. She was starting to feel a little light headed and her stomach was doing funny flips. "Hmm?"

Brittany slowly let go of Santana to look at her, "I...I think I'm going to be sick."

Santana slowly stepped back and placed a hand on her stomach, "I think I am too."

"Too much ice cream," Brittany mumbled and slowly sat down on the couch.

Santana took a deep breath, "I, umm, I'll go get us some Pepto-Bismol or something. Do you feel like throwing up?"

Brittany shook her head. She took a few more breaths and the feeling went away.

Santana soon came back with a bottle filled with the pink liquid, "May I offer you some Pepto-Bismol?"

"Yes, please," Brittany said watching as Santana sat down next to her.

Santana poured some of the pink goo into the plastic measuring cup that came with the bottle and gave it to Brittany. She herelf just took a big swig directly from the bottle.

"I can't believe we did that," Santana said putting the bottle coffee table.

"Yeah. Look let's just say I'm champion and not do that again," Brittany said placing the small plastic cup next to the bottle.

"No way. I need a rematch. Someday."

They sat sat side by side, their heads leaned back on the couch and waited for the Pepto to kick in. After about 15 minutes, Santana was starting to feel better. She looked over to Brittany and saw that she had fallen asleep.

Santana let out a soft laugh. She slowly got up and carefully moved Brittany until she was laying down on the couch.

"You work too hard," Santana whispered. She reached over and slowly moved back a few strands of hair from Brittany's face.

She wondered if she should let her sleep or wake her up. Brittany did say she didn't have any plans so it's not like she had to be anywhere. Santana had to admit she liked having Brittany here. She liked the energy Brittany brought and the apartment just felt more...fun.

Santana tried not to think too much about how much she liked being around this girl. Maybe she had just been hanging out with the same people for too long that being around Brittany felt different. That has to be it, Santana thought, I should make more friends.

She got up and went to her room to get a blanket and a pillow. She carefully draped the blanket over the sleeping girl and placed the pillow right above her head. She figured Brittany would reach out for it in her sleep later. Santana turned off the TV and the lights and went to her room and began reading her new book.

-**tbc**-

* * *

**A/N: To those who say the story is dragging, do you mean just the Brittana relationship or the story overall? In either case, all I can say is that this fic is going to be a long(ish) one and it's still early. I was going to write a short two chapter story and end it, but I really like the idea of exploring the lives of each girl and not have the story _only_ be about them together. I already wrote "they like each other at first sight" and "they hate each other then like each other" stories. I wanted to try something different. Again, if that's not your thing and you want to quit reading, I totally get it. :-)**

**I do love and appreciate all the feedback. Thanks for reading. :-) You can also hit me up on tumblr if you prefer: parispal23**


	10. Wooing Protocol

Brittany yawned and stretched her whole body. Her eyes still closed and trying to hold on to sleep.

"Mmmm."

She tried to extend her arm to lie completely flat on her bed, but something was blocking her. It felt like a padded wall. Why is there a padded wall in my bedroom, she thought.

Brittany slowly opened her eyes. This wasn't her room. This wasn't even her apartment. She was in Santana's apartment. Everything came flooding back and she was suddenly wide awake.

"Did you have a good sleep?"

Brittany sat up, keeping the blanket she had draped over covering her legs. The lights were on and she focused a little to her right and saw Santana sitting on the coffee table. A black Sharpie in her hand and a smile on her face.

"You didn't?" Brittany asked, horrified.

"Did what?" Santana asked giving Brittany her best innocent expression. She lightly tapped the Sharpie to her lips.

Brittany quickly reached for the shiny metal bowl next to Santana on the table and brought it up to her face to see her reflection. Nothing. Her face was free of any markings.

Santana's laughter echoed through the small apartment.

"That was mean," Brittany said putting the bowl down, "I really thought you drew on me."

Santana put the Sharpie down on the table and just smiled at Brittany. She had been waiting for Brittany to wake up just to play this prank on her. It was now a little past midnight and she realized she had waited almost five hours just to tease Brittany with the Sharpie. The look on Brittany's face had been totally worth the wait.

"What time is it?" Brittany asked.

"Five past midnight," Santana said, "I was starting to think you'd sleep through the night."

"Shit," Brittany said, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"I still don't understand how you could. After all that sugar, I was wired! I couldn't sleep at all."

Brittany shrugged her shoulders, "I think I burned off all my sugar rush energy being excited about getting that job." She rubbed her eyes, "Ugh. This is so embarrassing. I'm always falling asleep when you're around. You must think I have like Necrophilia or something."

"Narcolepsy," Santana corrected, "And no I don't. I just think you have too many projects going on at once." Santana fought the urge to reach out and fix all the stray hairs that were going wild on Brittany's head from sleeping. She couldn't understand how this girl could look cute after waking up from sleep.

Brittany ran a hand through her hair thinking she must look like a total mess. "Well, actually, Quinn and I finished the cheer video and are going to turn it in tomorrow. Or today, I guess. Umm, and I finished Kate's video. I still have Rachel's video to finish, but she's being very cool about it and not pressuring me to finish it fast."

"You finished Kate's video? When?"

"Yesterday. She didn't tell you?"

Santana tried to remember if Kate had said anything, but she was sure she hadn't. Santana had to admit that recently, when Kate talked, she zoned out most of the time. "No, nothing. How did it turn out?"

"Really good, I think," Brittany said proudly, "I totally ignored everything she asked for and just did my own thing."

"You did? She didn't, she didn't give you a hard time, did she? Tell me if she did, because I'll talk to her…"

"No, no," Brittany interrupted, "I mean, she was a little pissed I ignored her, but when she saw what I did, she admitted it was better."

Santana let out a relieved breath, "Good. I told her just let you do your thing. I saw those short movies of yours, on your site. They were amazing."

Brittany remembered that Santana had said she wanted to see her movies, but she figured Santana was just being polite. "You saw them?"

"Yeah," Santana said, "I spent like two hours just watching all your short films. Better than going to the movies."

Brittany tried not to smile, but it was impossible when Santana had complimented her like that. "Thanks."

Santana was finding that she really liked to tease and embarrass this girl. It was just so easy and adorable. "OK, well I'm glad you're not working on Kate's video or the cheer video anymore. No more projects, OK? I want you to concentrate on these two papers for your English class. That roach Rachel can wait for her damn music video."

"Come on, she's nice," Brittany said, "She invited me to her performance tomorrow, or tonight. Man, this midnight thing is confusing. Anyway, are you going? I mean, you and Kate?"

Santana shook her head. Kate wasn't performing, and neither of them liked Rachel all that much so they never went to any of her performances.

"Oh," Brittany said, "We'll I am. I'm going to film her some more. Mercedes is picking out music so she'll be there. And hopefully Quinn can make it. It'll be fun."

Santana forced a smile. There was that assistant again. She wondered if Brittany even suspected that Quinn had "not so friendly" feeling for her. "Britt. About Quinn, umm…." Santana shook her head, "You know what? Never mind."

"What?"

"Nothing," Santana said smiling, "It's nothing." That voice in her brain telling her it was none of her business was talking. She shouldn't care who Brittany, or Quinn for that matter, dated.

Brittany saw the change in Santana's mood. She seemed to have tensed up and Brittany figured it was because it was probably past her bed time. Despite feeling really comfortable in Santana's place and being with Santana, she knew she had to go. She got up. "I should go. I'm totally imposing now and I'm sure you want to get to bed."

"What? No, Britt," Santana said, also getting up, "It's way too late for you to go home now. Why don't you stay and sleep here."

"I couldn't…"

"Yes, you can," Santana insisted. She really didn't want Brittany to leave. "I can't have you falling asleep on the ride home. So, stay. And besides, you don't know where I have your tie and shirt. I'll keep them hostage unless you stay."

Brittany thought about this for a few seconds. She really couldn't just leave her favorite tie. What if she needed later or something. "OK, I'll stay."

"Good," Santana said smiling, "If you want, I can take the couch and you can sleep on my bed."

Brittany's eyes widened at the offer. The idea of sleeping on Santana's bed both terrified and excited her, "Umm no, that's OK. I got comfortable on the couch."

"OK. Do you want another blanket?"

"I'm good," Brittany said laying back down, "Thanks for letting me stay."

"You're welcome," Santana said. With one last smile at her guest, she turned off the lights and headed off to her own room to try to get some sleep.

###

"Mmmm," Santana moaned as she slowly woke up. She looked at her clock, and noticed she had woken up 20 minutes before her alarm clock was set to go off and wondered if Brittany was awake.

She turned off her alarm, got out of bed and went out to the living room to check on her guest. For a split second, she felt a little self conscious at Brittany seeing her in her cotton grey shorts and white shirt, but pushed that idea out of her head. She quietly headed to the living room but soon discovered there was no need to be quiet. Brittany was gone and her blanket and pillow were neatly stacked on couch.

"Shit." Santana noticed there was a note on the coffee table.

_Hi Santana,_

_I didn't mean to sneak out like the Hamburglar, but I have an early class today. Thanks for letting me crash on your couch. It was super comfortable, and I'm not saying that to be nice. I found where you were keeping my shirt and tie hostage. Next time you should find a more secret hiding place. The kitchen table was way too easy. Thanks for washing and ironing my shirt. I'm taking your ULA sweatshirt so I can wash it and I'll give it to you next time I see you. I guess that would be when my next paper is due? So like in two weeks? I'll call you but if you need your sweatshirt sooner let me know and I'll meet you._

_Brittany S. Pierce._

_P.S._

_I took one of the banana split bowls with me because I want to see if I can eat cereal out of it._

Santana wasn't a morning person and almost never smiled before noon, but by the time she finished reading Brittany's note, she was almost laughing. "This girl is so weird."

Santana folded the note and put in on her desk and went to get ready for the day. She was going to see Kate. Today was the day.

###

"Brittany! Wait!"

Brittany stopped walking and turned around to see Rachel lightly jogging up to her, "Hey Rachel." This girl was kinda weird but nice and Brittany was still trying to figure out if she liked her or not.

"Hi!" Rachel said a little out of breath, "I'm so glad I saw you. Are you on your way to class?"

"Oh no, I just got out of class actually," Brittany said, "I'm on my way home now."

"Great! Listen," Rachel said as she reached in her purse and pulled out a ticket, "Here's your complimentary ticket to my performance tonight. I arranged for you to have a seat near the front, so you can get my best angle."

Brittany took the ticket, "Thanks. Mercedes was just going to sneak me in through the back, but now I don't have to feel like I'm breaking and entering."

"Use the ticket. Your seat is saved. Is it just you? Or are you bringing a guest?"

Brittany still hadn't heard from Quinn. She had asked her yesterday morning about going with her to Rachel's performance but Quinn had said she may have plans. Brittany wondered if Quinn had a date and the thought made her uncomfortable for some reason. "Umm, maybe. Can I get another one just in case?"

"Sure!" Rachel said, giving Brittany another ticket, "The more the merrier! I'm hoping the show is sold out. I mean, I do realize I'm not the only singer but I would like to imagine that the show sold out because of me. I'll arrange to have the seat next to you reserved just in case."

"Yeah, umm, OK," Brittany said slowly. If Quinn couldn't make it, Brittany figured she could ask Mike.

"OH! Another thing, I'm having a graduation party and I hope you can make it," Rachel said, excited, "I know we still have like two months left, but it's never too early to save the date."

"Yeah, for sure. I'd love to go."

"Fantastic! I will be sending out custom made invitations soon so text me your address," Rachel said, "Alright, I have to go. I'm meeting my vocal coach for one last tune up before the show. I'll see you tonight!"

"Bye," Brittany said and watched Rachel leave. Maybe Rachel isn't so bad, she thought.

###

Santana didn't have any classes on Friday but Will had emailed her and asked her to come to campus. She wanted to get this meeting over with so she could get home and meet Kate and get that break up over with as soon as possible.

However, right now she needed to see what Will wanted. Apparently he had news. There were really only two big life changing things Santana was waiting to hear about and she figured this last minute meeting had to do with them.

Santana reached Will door and took a deep breath. She could potentially find out about her future at this school. She knocked.

"Come in."

"Hi Will," Santana said coming in and taking a seat.

"Santana, hello," Will said, "Thanks for meeting me."

"No problem. What's up?"

"Well, you probably already guessed it but the T.A. job you applied for is down to you and Susan Davidson," Will said.

"Ugh, I knew it," Santana said, annoyed.

"Look, I know Susan isn't the best candidate…"

Santana rolled her eyes, "No shit."

"…but her family has given a lot of money to this school…"

"I fucking knew it," Santana said, shaking her head, "So she's basically buying her job?"

"Santana, believe me, I don't think the English board wants to give her the job. Her being a final candidate is just a, sort of courtesy. This position is to assist the whole department. If it were just an individual teacher, I'm sure that teacher would have picked you on the spot."

"It still sucks," Santana said crossing her arms, "So when will I know if I'm getting screwed over by the board?"

"Soon," Will said, "And if it's any consolation, I voted for you. And so did David Martinez."

Santana just scoffed and rolled her eyes. Just the thought of Susan getting that job over her made Santana's blood boil.

"Well, here's something that will make you feel better," Will said with a smile, "You'll be getting an acceptance letter in about two weeks to ULA's graduate program. You're in!"

Santana kept her arms crossed, but couldn't stop the big smile from appearing on her face. Will had connections with the admissions board would know her status before the official letters went out.

"Like that was any doubt, right?" Will asked with a laugh.

"It's nice to have confirmation though," Santana said.

"You really are the shining star of this school and I'm glad to hear we have you for two more years," Will said, "This school could use more students like you."

"That's true," Santana said not even trying to be modest.

"Anyway, I also wanted to tell some other big news," Will said. When Santana just shrugged her shoulders, he continued, "Los Angeles Magazine wants to do an article on you."

"Me?" Santana asked, dubious, "Why?"

"Why not? You're the superstar of ULA! Head Cheerleader, top of your class and the whole school. Published author. An inspiring role model to the gay and Latino communities."

"I repeat, why?"

"Come on Santana," Will said, "This article will be perfect. It will give you the edge on that job and it's great press for the school."

Santana groaned. So much for being out of the spotlight, she thought.

"Fine, whatever," Santana said.

"Great!" Will said handing Santana a paper, "That's the information of the reporter who will talk to you. He also wants to interview Kate so make sure…"

"Whoa, whoa," Santana said raising a hand at Will, "I thought this was about me. Why does he need to talk to Kate?"

"Diversity!" Will said, "Dean Figgins wants to portray this school as accepting of everyone no matter of cultural or sexual orientation. Who better than to represent the school than our resident lesbian celebrity couple? It's perfect, Santana. You do this and you will have another point over Susan. You are published, she isn't and that's an edge, but you need another to compete with her money. Doing this article? That will guarantee the board picks you."

"Fuck," Santana said softly.

She felt her phone vibrate. She took it out and read the text.

_OMG! I just ran into Figgins! We're going to be in a magazine! - KD_

Santana suddenly felt very trapped.

She left Will's office and headed home to meet Kate. Despite the magazine wanting to write them as some perfect couple, Santana knew they weren't and she couldn't pretend just to get publicity for the school.

Santana got home pretty quickly and waited. Waited to call things off with Kate.

There was a knock at the door. Showtime, Santana thought.

She opened the door and Kate walked straight in already talking about the magazine shoot, "This is going to be awesome! Do you think they'll give us a full pictorial too?"

Santana motioned for Kate to sit down on the couch, "We need to talk."

"Yes! There's so much to do before the reporter…"

"Stop." Santana said. She took a deep breath, "Listen Kate I'm...I'm just not invested in this relationship as much as I should be," Santana said. Like ripping off a band-aid, she thought.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Us. I just feel like we're not working anymore."

The look on Kate's face told Santana she understood, "Wait. You're breaking up with me? Are you kidding?"

"No. This isn't working anymore Kate," Santana said gently, "I can't, we can't..."

"I love you Santana. I love you and you love me. We can work on this," Kate said, her voice full of such a panic that surprised Santana.

Love? They had only been dating for like four months, there is no love, Santana thought.

"Look. I'm sorry, but I have to concentrate on my studies. My career is really important to me and I just can't be distracted right now."

"So this whole time I was just a distraction?" Kate asked, clearly hurt and angry.

"Isn't that what I was to you?" Santana accused, "Or was I more of a stepping stone in your rise on the popularity ladder at the school?"

"So you think I just started dating you because you're Santana Lopez, campus celebrity?" Kate asked with a bitter laugh.

"You know you did," Santana said.

"OK, yeah," Kate admitted, "Maybe in the beginning I was just going out with you because it was a great ego boost that the most popular girl in the school wanted to date me. But I…I ended up caring about you."

Santana saw that Kate started to cry. She went over to her, but Kate pushed her away.

"Kate, I'm sorry," It was all Santana could say.

"Don't do this," Kate almost begged, "I'll give you space if that's what you want. Spend all the time you need studying and I'll just back off for a bit."

Santana sighed. She didn't want a break from Kate. She wanted it to be over.

"I am doing this. I know what I want, and Kate, I'm sorry but it's not you." Santana said.

Kate didn't move for a long time.

"Kate?"

"I don't understand. We were doing so great, we're perfect for each other Santana. All your friends keep saying it. Everyone at school keep saying it. I feel it. And all of a sudden you just fall out of love with me?" Kate asked as she wiped a tear.

"I care about you. But, but...I was never in love with you," Santana said gently.

Kate looked like someone had punched her in the gut. She stumbled a bit getting up from the couch.

"I can't believe this…"

Kate never finished her sentence. She looked at Santana one last time and left.

After the door closed a huge wave of relief came over Santana. She felt free.

###

Brittany stood by the entrance to the auditorium waiting for Quinn. She held on to the straps of her camera bag as she watched as people arrived. Quinn had texted her earlier that she could make it to Rachel's performance because her plans had been canceled. Brittany was glad because she had almost called Mike to ask if he wanted to come. She liked Mike, but Brittany knew she'd have more fun with Quinn.

Brittany also wanted to know if Roz Washington had called her and told her about the job. Just thinking about the job made Brittany smile. There was so much to do. She had to find an apartment, figure out what to take and what to leave behind and decide when exactly she'd leave. But first, first she had to get that diploma. And she knew she would because of Santana.

While Quinn was nowhere to be found, Brittany did spot someone who she thought was Santana and almost waved, but it wasn't her. Brittany knew Santana said she wouldn't be here, but that didn't stop her from thinking she saw her tutor when her eyes fell on a girl who even slightly resembled Santana.

Were they friends now, Brittany wondered. All day she had wanted to at least text Santana to say hello or to reassure her that her sweatshirt was safe and sound but she didn't. It almost felt like she'd be bothering Santana and that's the last thing Brittany wanted. Santana was already doing so much for her that she didn't want to impose anymore than she already was.

"Feeling better?"

Startled, Brittany turned to her right and saw Santana standing there. "Hey! You keep appearing out of nowhere!" Brittany said with a big smile. She was really glad to see Santana. Brittany couldn't understand how Santana could look so beautiful all the time, but here she was again looking gorgeous.

Santana shrugged her shoulders, "I guess that's my thing. You fall asleep on me and I scare you with my sudden appearances."

After hearing Will's news and breaking up with Kate, Santana had spent most of her day in a confusing mix of emotions. Happy, frustrated, annoyed, relived all rolled into one. It was exhausting. She had wanted to call Brittany to ask her if she was totally over her stomachache, but the day had just gotten away from her. Seeing Brittany now though, looking adorable in her fish pattern dress, Santana wished she had found the time to call her.

"My thing is less scary," Brittany said, "What are you doing here? I thought you said you weren't coming? Is, is Kate here with you?" Brittany scanned the crowed behind Santana for signs of annoying Kate.

"No, no Kate," Santana said with a sad smile, "I wasn't going to come, but when Kurt said he was coming alone, I couldn't have him be a loser and go solo."

Brittany tried not to show Santana how glad she was Kate wasn't here, "Oh that's cool. Umm, yeah I am."

"You're what?"

"Feeling better," Brittany said, "I don't think I'll be eating anymore ice cream any time soon, but I'm good. How about you?"

"Good as new," Santana said with a smile. Being around Brittany seemed to relax her and made her feel less stressed, "You snuck out early this morning. You missed out on my amazing waffles."

"Yeah, sorry. I had to go home and change for class. You got my note, right?"

Santana chuckled, "Yeah, I did. And you can keep the sweatshirt."

"No way! It's yours. I still have to wash it…"

"Britt it's fine. It's too big for me anyway. I only bought it because it was the only size they had that day. Keep it."

"Are you sure?" Brittany asked. She sort of liked having something that belonged to Santana.

"I am," Santana assured. That sweatshirt was her favorite piece of clothing but it didn't matter, she'd just get another one.

"Yay, thanks," Brittany said with a smile, "Guess I got myself a Santana Lopez souvenir."

Santana gave Brittany an awkward smile. The idea of Brittany thinking of her as the campus celebrity bothered her. "So, umm, what are you doing out here?"

"Oh, I'm waiting for Quinn, since I have her ticket," Brittany said.

Santana crossed her arms, "You guys sure do spend a lot of time together." She couldn't put her finger on it, but there was just something about Quinn that really irked Santana and hated that Brittany was being sucked into this magical fairy's pixie dust.

"Yeah, she's awesome!" Brittany said, smiling, "I love hanging out with her, she so much fun."

Santana was sure that if she held up a mirror to her face she'd see the an expression of utter shock. Quinn? Fun? That was one hard pill to swallow. "Hmm."

Brittany looked past Santana and saw Kurt coming up behind her, "Hey Kurt!"

"Well, Hello Brittany," Kurt said, "Nice to see you here."

"You too." Brittany really liked the vibe Kurt had around him. She was sure the two of them could become friends really easily.

"I saw the cheer video you and Quinn did," Kurt said, "Amazing! Even Sue was impressed."

"Thanks!" Brittany beamed, "I'm really proud of it." She turned to Santana, "Have you seen it?"

"No, sorry," Santana said, "I've been so busy today. But I don't need to see it to know Kurt is right. I'm sure it's amazing."

Brittany was really starting to really like when Santana complimented her. It made her feel so confident and secure. "Thanks."

Kurt turned to Santana, "I'm not dropping you off next time. Walking that parking lot alone was just not good for my image."

"Oh please, spare me the drama," Santana said, "I told you these heels are not made for walking." The black high heels she had opted to wear with her dark denim jeans were one of her more comfortable shoes. But, when Santana had seen Brittany standing by the entrance when they had driven by, she told Kurt to drop her off and she'd just wait for him.

"I love your shoes," Brittany told Santana.

"Thanks," Santana said looking down at her feet. She still wasn't used the strange tingle that ran through her any time Brittany complimented her. Oh for fuck's sake, Santana thought, she just said she liked my shoes. Santana looked up and turned her attention to Kurt, who seemed to have a strange look on his face, "What?"

"Ah, OK," Kurt said with a smile, "Nothing. Just noticing...things."

"What the hell are talking about?" Santana was confused.

Brittany watched them and figured they were having some sort of secret conversation. She didn't have time to think too much about it because her phone rang. It was Rachel.

"Hey Rachel….yeah, I'm outside….I'm waiting for my friend….Now?…But my friend isn't here and I have to give her her ticket…"

"I can wait for her," Kurt offered.

"Really?" Brittany gave him a big smile, "Thanks Kurt I …." She heard Rachel on the other end, "Yeah Kurt's here….Oh, OK." She hung up and turned to Kurt, "Rachel wants me to film her getting ready and she asked if you could help her. With her clothes."

"Oh, I'd love to!" Kurt said, clapping his hands together once.

Brittany turned to Santana, "Hey…"

Santana took in a deep breath and let it out, "Give me her ticket. I'll wait for her."

Brittany jumped up excitedly and then leaned in and gave Santana a quick hug, "Thanks! Here's the ticket. Hey maybe after we can all hang out?"

"Maybe," Santana said without any enthusiasm and taking the ticket. She would love to hang out with Brittany but the thought of hanging out with Quinn was not appealing at all.

"That'd be great!" Kurt said, "I'd love to spend more time with you Britt and with Quinn. I like her."

"Whatever," Santana said, "Go. Don't keep Gollum waiting."

Santana saw Brittany give her one last smile before walking away. Kurt just raised his eyebrow at her. "What?" she asked annoyed.

Kurt just smirked and followed Brittany.

Santana rolled her eyes and ignored him. She figured that idiotic ascot tie he was wearing was on too tight.

With each passing minute, Santana was growing more and more impatient. The fuck is this chick, she thought. She was seriously really close to just going inside and telling Brittany that Quinn never showed up. But she couldn't do that to Brittany. Besides, she was sure Quinn would open her blabber mouth and ruin everything.

After another five minutes, Santana spotted a blond with a dark green sleeveless dress holding a small box that looked like a present. Santana thought that dress looked like it was perfect for anyone trying to impersonate a pine tree. She watched as Quinn approached the entrance and the look of recognition on her face when she spotted her.

"Hi Santana," Quinn said.

After years of being in the ULA spotlight, Santana had perfected her fake smile that it now looked genuine. She used that skill now, "Hi Quinn. How are you?"

"Great," Quinn said returning the smile. She shifted the present she was holding from one hand to the other.

"Did you bring Rachel a present for her performance?" Santana asked, "That's sweet of you. But you know, flowers are usually what performers get after a show."

"Oh, uh no," Quinn said, "I don't even know Rachel. I've never met her, but I did see some of the footage Brittany shot in the auditorium the other day. She's a really amazing singer."

"Yeah, she is," Santana said, "So who's the present for?" Santana was sure she already knew, but she asked anyway.

Quinn let out a small breath, "Umm, have you seen Brittany? She said she'd meet me out here."

Of course the present was for Brittany, Santana thought. First dinners together and now Quinn was buying Brittany presents. That was definitely wooing protocol. Santana forced herself not to roll her eyes, "She's backstage filming Rachel. She asked me to give you your ticket."

"Oh thanks!" Quinn said taking the ticket, "I guess I'll go wait for her inside."

"Now, hold up a sec," Santana said, "The show doesn't start for another 15 minutes, let's chat. I mean, we didn't get a chance to talk much during the filming of the cheer video."

Santana wasn't sure what she was doing. She didn't like Quinn, but she was curious about her. Besides, Santana figured this would be a good time to get a feel on what exactly Quinn's intentions were with Brittany. She just wanted to confirm her suspicions, that's all.

"Oh! Uh, yeah, OK," Quinn said looking as confused as Santana felt at the request.

"Did Brittany tell you, about getting that job in New York this summer?" Santana asked.

"She did! I knew she'd get it," Quinn said with an admiring smile, "They'd be crazy not to hire her."

"She was so happy when Ms. Washington called," Santana said, a slight smirk on her face, "She looked like she was ready to explode with excitement."

Quinn slightly cocked her head to the side, "You were there when Ms. Washington called her?"

Perfect, Santana thought, Let's see if I can get a reaction from her.

"Yeah," Santana said, "Brittany and I hung out last night at my place. She even slept over. We had a lot of fun."

Santana watched as Quinn's face fell a little, a look of what Santana could only describe as jealousy formed on her face.

"She slept over?" Quinn asked.

"Sure did," Santana said, happy to give her the news. But now there was a weird tension in the air.

Quinn seemed to recover because she was now smiling, "We'll I'm glad you and Brittany had fun. I'm sure your girlfriend, Kate, would say the same."

Santana forced a smile. Quinn had called her bluff. "She would. Brittany crashed on the coach." Santana really wanted to tell Quinn that Kate was no longer her girlfriend but she had gotten what she wanted. Her suspicions confirmed.

"OK," Quinn said, "Well, this has been fun but I think I'm going to go in now."

"I just figured we should get to know each other since we're on the same boat," Santana said.

"And what boat is that?"

"The S.S. Lesbiatanic."

Quinn raised an eyebrow, "You think I'm a lesbian?"

"Sure," Santana said, "I'm pretty good at picking out other crew members. Just thought it was cool we had that to bond over."

Quinn's smile grew bigger, "I'm not a lesbian."

"Seriously?" Santana asked, surprised.

"Nope. I'm a crew member on a different boat." Quinn said, "I'll see you inside."

With that Quinn headed to the entrance leaving Santana with a confused look on her face.

###

With only five minutes until the show started, Brittany made her way to her seat. Mercedes was in the sound booth and she hadn't had a chance to see her. Brittany also found out that Kurt and Santana had gotten balcony seats and would be nowhere near her and Quinn. Brittany was disappointed. She had wanted all four of them to sit together.

As Brittany made her way through the seated people in her row, she spotted Quinn, "Hi! I was starting to think you ditched me," she said as she sat down, careful to put her camera on her lap.

"Never," Quinn said, "I'm sorry I was late."

"It's OK," Brittany said, "Was it because of the plans you said you might have? Did they cancel or something?"

"They?"

Brittany shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know, like your date or something. It is Friday night."

Quinn laughed softly, "No, I didn't have a date. Those weren't my plans."

Brittany found herself smiling, and strangely relieved that Quinn hadn't planned on being on a date with someone. "What were they then?"

"I was late because I was waiting for Roz to call me…"

Brittany let out a small squeak.

"…But you knew that right?" Quinn asked with a laugh.

"So she told you? I can talk about it now?" Brittany asked really excited.

"She told me."

"Yay!" Brittany said and leaned over and brought Quinn in for a hug. She felt Quinn hug her back and took in a deep breath. Quinn smelled really good. Kinda like how good Santana smelled but different. Brittany couldn't help but compare them and she found that she really liked both smells. A lot.

"I can't believe you kept that from me," Quinn said pulling back and smiling.

Brittany knew Quinn wasn't mad, "I had my orders." She noticed the present in Quinn's lap, "Did your mom give you a present to congratulate you?"

Quinn picked up the small rectangular box and handed it to Brittany, "That's the other reason I was late. I stopped and bought this for you."

"Me?"

"Yeah," Quinn said, "Ms. Washington told me you kept going on about me in your interview. Even though I told you not to."

"I'm not sorry," Brittany said taking the box, "If it was the other way around you'd totally do the same."

"Yes, I would," Quinn said, "So anyway, I got you this as a 'thank you' for all your help with getting this job."

"You really didn't have to," Brittany said. Her fingers were already picking at the edge of the wrapping paper. She loved presents.

"I wanted to," Quinn said giving Brittany one of the sweetest looks she had seen in a long time.

Brittany began to open the present to distract herself from the flush she felt on her face, "Oh wow! I love it!"

Brittany pushed the purple tissue paper aside and picked up the yellow tie with baby monkeys eating bananas as the pattern.

"You said you liked ties with baby animals on them so…," Quinn began.

Brittany took out the tie and put it on and didn't even care that it clashed with her fish dress. She was going to wear it now. "Thank you," she said and hugged Quinn again.

Above in one of the balconies, Santana watched as Brittany hugged Quinn again. She clenched her jaw in sheer annoyance at watching the whole thing. She didn't care that Quinn had said she wasn't a lesbian, Santana knew she was right. Was Quinn still in the closet, she wondered. But if that was the case, why was she so blatantly flirting with Brittany all the time? Maybe Quinn was bisexual. Hell, Santana still didn't even really know if Brittany was interested in girls.

"You have a girlfriend," Kurt whispered in her ear.

Startled out of her thoughts, Santana smacked Kurt in the arm, "Jesus! Warn a girl before you huff your Cheetos breath on her."

"If I didn't know that you were in a committed relationship, I would say you have a thing for Brittany," Kurt said in such a casual tone that Santana was sure he was just joking.

"Excuse me?" Santana asked.

The lights in the auditorium dimmed, "Oh, show's starting," Kurt said and ignored Santana.

Santana watched as the first singer took the stage. Kurt needs to mind his own damn business, she thought, always joking around.

"Whatever," Santana said, "And I don't have a girlfriend anymore."

"What?!"

"I broke up with Kate this afternoon," Santana whispered.

"What?!" Kurt asked again, still surprised.

"Do you have hearing problem or something? I broke up with her! We're done."

Kurt put his hand to his chest, "Thank God! I've always hated her."

"What?!" It was now Santana's turn to be surprised, "I thought you liked her."

"I only pretended to like her because she was your girlfriend," Kurt admitted, "Oh, is this because you like someone else? Someone I know?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me if there's someone else? First Sam, now you? It was just time, that's all," Santana said, crossing her arms.

Kurt didn't say anything and just leaned back in his chair, "Hmm."

Santana just rolled her eyes and turned her full attention to the singer on stage. She did her best to ignore how fast her heart rate had gotten.

###

After the performance, Brittany got her wish. She, Santana, Kurt, Quinn and even Rachel got together for a drink at The Red Barron, the local bar and club a couple of miles from the school. It was the unofficial hangout of the ULA student body. They had lucked out and quickly found a table that could sit all of them. The only person missing was Mercedes but she had told Brittany she had already accepted an invite to go out with the other backstage crew members from the show.

"You were amazing Rachel," Brittany said, "I got some great shots of you. I think this music video is going to be awesome."

"Why thank you Brittany," Rachel said proudly, "I do feel like tonight was one of my best performances."

"It was was!" Brittany said, "Well, I think it was, I mean I've only heard you sing like three times. But anyway, I want to film another performance. It doesn't have to be like tonight though. Maybe like, have you singing at the zoo!"

Santana let out a small laugh.

Rachel looked utterly confused, "At the zoo?"

"Or maybe the observatory!" Brittany said. Her mind was quickly filling up with ideas, "I'll think of something cool. Don't worry."

Santana shook her head in amusement. Rachel did look worried. Really worried. She listened as they continued talking about Rachel's performance and Santana's eyes couldn't help but fall on the monkey tie Brittany was now wearing. So that's what was in the box, she thought. Santana hated that Quinn had given Brittany a perfect present. If by some chance she had to buy Brittany a present, Santana would also have gotten her a tie, but not with monkeys. Maybe one with kittens.

Brittany tried to listen as Rachel and Kurt talked about her wardrobe but her eyes kept drifting towards Santana who was just leaning back in her chair drinking her rum and Coke. Santana hadn't said much but Brittany found that she just liked having her around. She needed to ask Santana if they were friends now. Friends could call each other up any time they wanted and even go out to movies or whatever. That's all Brittany wanted. Just to be her friend. That's all she could be anyway, and that was enough.

"So," Rachel said, "You are all coming to my graduation party, right?"

Santana finally spoke, "Your party? I thought this was Sugar's party?"

"Technically," Rachel began, "The party will be in my home, or more accurately, the home of my fathers. Anyway, that automatically makes it my party."

"I'm for sure going!" Brittany said.

"I don't care who's party it is," Kurt said, "I'll be there."

"Quinn?" Rachel asked, "Will you come too?"

"Oh, umm, I'm not a student," Quinn said, "I already graduated."

"So what?" Rachel said, "You're still invited."

"Yeah Quinn," Brittany said, "You have to go! You can be my date if you want and that way you don't have to feel like you have to be a student!"

Santana rolled her eyes knowing that Quinn was probably creaming her panties at the thought of being Brittany's date. "Uh, gross," she said under her breath and pushed away her now empty drink.

"Fine, fine," Quinn said with small laugh, "I'll go."

"YAY!" Brittany said, sheer excitement in her voice.

Santana just shook her head. She looked over to Kurt who was giving her that same look he had given her in the balcony. Santana was really close to smacking that look off his face.

"Santana?" Rachel asked, "You and Kate are going, right?"

"I'll be there," Santana said, purposely leaving out Kate. She knew people would find out they broke up eventually, but she didn't feel like announcing it like some breaking news bulletin. "Where do you live?"

"Seriously, Santana?" Rachel asked in a huff, "I've told you a million times you live like a block away from my dads' house."

"Oh right," Santana said, "I keep forgetting."

Brittany was getting concerned, "You forget your phone and forget where people live, Santana," she said, seriously, "Maybe you're working too hard too."

"Nah," Santana said with a smile, "I'm fine. I remember the important stuff."

"Well, excuse me," Rachel said sounding offended.

"Calm your tits, Barbara," Santana said. When Santana saw Quinn reach over and adjust Brittany's new tie, she got up, "I'm going to get another drink. Anyone want a refill?"

Kurt and Rachel nodded their heads

"I'll go with you!" Brittany said getting up. She handed her camera to Quinn, "Can you take care of this? I'll get you your drink."

"Sure."

Brittany gladly followed Santana up to the bar and ordered everyone's drink.

"So, I wanted to ask you something," Brittany said as they waited for their order.

Santana couldn't help but smile. There was something about Brittany that just always made her want to smile, like she could never be angry or sad when Brittany was around. Santana was sure the girl had that effect on everyone, "Sure. What's up?"

Brittany took in a breath and gave Santana a shy smile, "Are we friends now?"

That one innocent question made Santana smile even bigger, "Of course we are."

Brittany's shy smile was now a big grin, "Awesome! So, now that we're friends we can like, hang out and stuff."

"I'd really like that," Santana said. In the back of her mind she was already thinking up places where they could go. Brittany was like sunshine, rainbows and everything that was good and Santana wanted to be part of that world.

Brittany almost leaned forward and hugged Santana but their order came. Now she could call Santana any time she wanted without feeling like she'd be bothering her. Now she could maybe even hang out with Santana and not have it be because of tutoring. This was her last chance to be a part of Santana's life before she moved. They could still email each other and Skype, but it wouldn't be the same. That thought made Brittany sad and made her wish she had become friends with Santana four years ago.

"Ready?" Santana asked picking up some of the drinks.

"Ready," Brittany said taking the rest, "Oh! I picked out the next book I'm going write about."

"Great! What it is it?" Santana asked as they began to walk back to the table.

"'White Fang'," Brittany said, "It's about a wolf. That's really all I know but I like wolves and it's American."

Santana let out a chuckle, "Great choice Brittany."

They headed back to the table to rejoin their friends.

###

Two weeks. It's been two weeks since Santana broke up with Kate. Two weeks of the whole student body of ULA gossiping, blogging, Tweeting, and even Instagraming her every move on campus. It was almost worse than when she was at the height of her popularity when the football team had won the Sugar Bowl. Everyone wanted to know "what really happened" and why the Golden Lesbian Couple had broken up. To Santana's surprise, Kate had actually kept a pretty low profile since the news broke.

Luckily, the interest in the break up was starting to wane and many in the student body had moved on to gossip about someone else or, with graduation quickly approaching, they had turned their attention on school work.

Santana groaned as she parked her car in her reserved parking spot. With six weeks left to graduation and only five before finals, the work was piling on and Santana was finding that there weren't enough hours in the day. Besides her school work, she had an appointment to do that damn magazine interview and photo shoot. Then later, she and Susan Davidson were set to meet with the English board where one of them would find out they had a job at the school come fall.

The only thing she was looking forward to today was tutoring Brittany.

Even with all that craziness, there was no way Santana was going to let Brittany fail that class and lose that summer job. It had also been two weeks since she had seen Brittany. They had tried to meet up for coffee a few times, but it never worked out and they ended up just texting each other from time to time. Their different schedules made it impossible and Santana found that frustrating. She couldn't help but notice that she seemed to miss hanging out with Brittany more than she missed the girl that used to be her girlfriend.

Brittany had sent her a message after the news of the break up spread through campus.

_Hope you're not too sad. Maybe some ice cream will cheer you up? ;-) - BP_

Santana had literally laughed out loud. That one text made her feel better than any of the other condolences she got from anyone else. She really wanted to see Brittany again. She took out her phone and sent Brittany a text.

_We still on for tutoring, right? The usual time and place? - SL_

Santana was pleasantly surprised when a reply came in less than a minute.

_Yes! I can't wait. I have a surprise for you. - BP_

Santana smiled and felt goosebumps on her arm. A surprise?

_Really? Now I really can't wait for later! - SL_

_It sucks we haven't hung out more. That needs to change. - BP_

_Yes it does. I'll see you later, Britt. Have a good day. - SL_

_You too! - BP_

With a smile, Santana got out of her car and began walking to The Bean. She was meeting Sugar, Tina and one of Sugar's friends for breakfast. Santana had also hardly seen most of her friends these past two weeks. Everyone seemed to be busy with school these days.

She got to The Bean and spotted Sugar and Tina sitting in the back.

"Yo, Lopez! Over here," Sugar shouted waving Santana over.

Santana smiled and headed over and sat across from Tina and Sugar.

"Morning Santana," Tina greeted.

"Hey. So, is it just us three today?" Santana asked.

"Nope! One more," Mercedes said suddenly appearing. She was a bit out of breath.

Santana was oddly glad that Sugar's mystery friend was Mercedes. She had had a few encounters with the music major these past two weeks but nothing lasting more than a short chat in the hallways, but the more she saw of Mercedes, the more she liked. She could see why she and Brittany had become best friends.

"Yay!" Sugar said, "Glad you could make it."

"Me too," Mercedes said smiling as she sat down next to Santana.

"So, you know Santana," Sugar began.

"We're sort of buddies now," Mercedes said with a chuckle.

Santana just smiled and shook her head. She hated to admit that she really did like Mercedes.

"This is Tina," Sugar said, "Tina, this is Mercedes."

"Hi," Tina said shaking Mercedes' hand.

"Nice to finally meet you," Mercedes said, "It's good to put a name to a face."

"Same," Tina said with a laugh.

"So what are we talking about?" Mercedes asked.

"Nothing yet," Sugar said, "We just got here. So let's get some food!"

The four ordered coffees and breakfast. Much to Santana's delight, they talked about school and graduation while they waited for their food. She really didn't want to talk about her break up. Tina, Kurt and Sam knew what happened and those were the only three who's opinion Santana cared about. Sugar was a good friend, but Santana didn't trust her with intimate information. Sugar loved to gossip, and when they were almost done with breakfast, Sugar asked what she had probably been dying to ask.

"So what really happened with Kate?" Sugar asked, "Like, do I need your permission to talk to her? I want to ask her if she'll still be on one of my final shows. You know, like a celebrity interview."

"Kate isn't a celebrity Sugar," Santana said, "But you can talk to her if you want. I don't care."

"So what happened?" Sugar asked again.

"Nothing," Santana said taking a sip of her coffee.

"Nothing?"

"Yeah, nothing," Santana said, "We just weren't working anymore. That's it."

"Fine, don't tell me," Sugar said almost sounding hurt, "But if there are sides to pick, I'm on yours. I just need Kate to be my celebrity interview because I just can't interview you again for my segment. It's so boring by now."

"Thanks a lot," Santana said sarcastically.

"Sorry, but your reign as top dog is coming to an end," Sugar said.

Mercedes turned to Santana, "Look, I don't know what happened and honestly I don't care. I never liked that girl, but I like you Santana and just want to say I'm here if you need anything."

Santana felt a smile form. "Thanks Mercedes."

"She was the only girl you've dated that I've liked," Tina said, "But apparently it was all an act. Maybe she will win an Oscar one day."

Santana forced a smile and sipped her coffee.

"Oh wow," Sugar chimed in, "I just realized Puck and I are the only people who aren't single in our little circle of friends here."

"That's because you're dating each other," Tina said

"I like being single," Mercedes added, "I'm on a break from dating until I graduate. I don't need some damn relationship drama to sidetrack me."

"And that's why I'm single too," Tina said.

"Oh brother," Sugar said, "Anyway where was I? Oh hey, what about Brittany?"

Santana had started to block out Sugar's inane talk but at the mention of Brittany's name, her attention was peaked.

"My girl Britt is doing just fine," Mercedes said, with a smirk.

"Oh spill!" Sugar said, "She got a new guy?"

"Umm, no," Mercedes said slowly.

Santana fought the urge to shake Mercedes and force her to spill whatever information she was hiding. She had a bad feeling that it involved one film assistant. That's the other thing Santana had hated about not being able to see Brittany, she couldn't see what was happening with Quinn and Brittany. Not that she cared, really. She was just curious.

"Oh my God!" Sugar said now excited, "Talk!"

"Nothing," Mercedes said, "It's just that…"

"What?" Santana encouraged.

"Lately, I'm picking up a little something between Brittany and Quinn," Mercedes said, "Which I think is awesome. I love Quinn. Such a sweetheart."

"Really?" Sugar asked a big smile on her face.

Santana felt like she wanted to throw up. She had never really asked Brittany about her sexuality, but she had suspected she wasn't entirely straight. It was nice to have confirmation though.

"Wait, is Brittany gay?" Tina asked, shocked, "And Quinn is gay?."

"Britt is Bi," Mercedes said, "Didn't you all know?"

"No," Tina said, "She had a boyfriend so I figured she was straight."

"First mistake at college," Sugar said shaking her head, "Never assume sexuality."

"Yeah," Mercedes said, "She's been Bi since like middle school. No big secret. But Britt doesn't really like to do the whole label thing. I have no idea about Quinn but the way she is around Brittany, I'd be surprised if she wasn't."

"So Quinn and Brittany?" Santana asked again. She felt this intense need to know what was happening there.

"Oh, nothing's happened," Mercedes said, "Just a feeling I'm getting. I really hope it's true though."

Santana forced a smile.

"Yeah, Quinn's really pretty," Tina said.

"And Brittany seems to like her a lot so...you never know," Mercedes went on, "I'm just happy she's finally stopped crushing on Sant…er…." Mercedes suddenly stopped talking, her eyes wide, and took a big sip of her coffee. Her hot coffee. "Shit!"

Santana felt like her heart started beating way too fast. She looked at Mercedes who was sitting very still, her eyes wide and a look of fear on her face.

"What?" Mercedes asked trying to play dumb.

"Who did Brittany stop crushing on?" Santana asked, sternly.

"No one," Mercedes insisted.

"Who? What are you talking about Mercedes?" Santana was not letting go of this. Was Mercedes going to say my name, Santana wondered.

Just then, Mercedes reached into her bag and pulled out her phone. She put it to her ear.

"Hello? Yeah, this is her. Really? Yeah, I'm not busy.." She covered the mouthpiece, and got up, "Umm, ladies I gotta go. Breakfast was fun. Busy day!" She dropped a twenty dollar bill on the table.

"MERCEDES! Your phone didn't even ring, sit down!" Santana practically shouted.

"Set to vibrate," Mercedes said as she practically ran out of The Bean.

"Do you two know what's she was going to say?" Santana asked Sugar and Tina.

They both just shook their heads.

"What's going on?"

"Uh, no idea," Tina said getting up, "Anyway, I gotta go, gotta get to class. I'll see you guys later."

With that Tina was gone. Sugar excusing herself and leaving soon after.

Santana just sat there. Her mind was trying to grasp what had just happened. Did Brittany have a crush on me? Does she have feeling for me now or is she with Quinn?

Santana's mind went into overdrive.

-**tbc**-

* * *

**A/N: Thanks so much for the input on the last chapter. Really do appreciate it and glad to see many are enjoying the story. **

**I'd hope that anyone finding this fic boring, annoying, etc. wouldn't put themselves through the task of reading. Free yourselves! :)******** And, hey, maybe you'll like my next story better.**


	11. Bitch Switch

Brittany sat at her desk and typed away. She had finished her book about a week ago and was just about to finish typing the last page of her paper. She couldn't help the grin on her face as she typed out the last paragraph. She had actually managed to write almost eleven pages all on her own. She knew they weren't 'A' worthy pages, but at least she would show up to her meeting and surprise Santana with a finished paper. She felt this growing need to make Santana proud of her.

She hit save and then print. "Done!"

After the paper finished printing she put it in a folder and then her bag. Brittany didn't like that she and Santana hadn't had time to meet in the last two weeks. Santana said they were now friends so they should be hanging out, but they were just so busy. It sucked. Brittany felt like time was running out and she wanted to hang out with Santana at least a couple of times before she left.

Brittany got up and began making boxes to start packing up some of her stuff. She had other assignments to finish, but she was so burned out on finishing that paper and she needed a break. There was so much school work to do. It was like every teacher had gotten together and decided to start handing out assignments like crazy. Plus, she had this move.

She had gone online and searched for apartments that were in Manhattan because that's the only place Brittany had heard of in New York. It was where the Sex and the City women lived and where they had that big ball drop on New Year's, so it had to be a fun place to live. When Brittany had seen just how much an apartment cost in that area, she figured she'd have to sell all her organs just to afford one month's rent. She still hadn't asked Quinn about being roommates and she made a mental note to ask her when she came over.

Brittany took her newly formed box and went to her bookcase to start packing. The bookcase had only a few books and she mostly used it to store movies, souvenirs and other random stuff. When her box was half full, there was a knock at the door.

"WHO IS IT?"

"Quinn!" Came a muffled voice behind the door.

"IT'S OPEN!"

Quinn walked in and Brittany saw she was carrying more folded boxes. "I guess you don't need these then," Quinn said, "I found these in my garage and thought you'd need some."

"Oh, it's cool," Brittany said, "My parents brought me all these boxes yesterday."

Quinn piled the folded cardboard on top of the ones Brittany already had, "How much have you packed?"

"With this box, it'll be...just this box," Brittany said with a smile.

"Dork," Quinn teased, "So, I'm here to help even though I think you're jumping the gun. We still have plenty of time to pack. I haven't even started."

Brittany shrugged her shoulders, "I like the idea of slowly packing. Kinda like a long goodbye. I don't want to rush things last minute."

"That's kinda sweet," Quinn said. She picked up a folded box and assembled it, "Where do you want me?"

Brittany saw Quinn raise an eyebrow and give her a playful smile, "Umm, that other bookcase there is good," she said pointing across the room.

Brittany watched as Quinn sat down on the floor in front of the bookcase. Ever since Quinn had given her that monkey tie, there had been a different vibe between them and Brittany wasn't sure if it was because of her or because of Quinn. It's me, Brittany thought, I'm going to ruin everything.

Brittany started packing again and knew there was a reason why she hadn't asked Quinn about being roommates. It was the Santana thing all over again. She was developing a crush on Quinn. It just snuck up on her. Quinn was fun and sweet and just so pretty.

Brittany took a deep breath. It was like all anyone had to do was be nice to her and she'd mess it up by crushing on them. Well, except Santana. That was so different and sort of complicated. Like, Santana wasn't real, then she was real or something. Brittany's head started to hurt. Besides, Santana was off limits. Sure she was single now, but, well for one, Brittany was moving, and two, no way would Santana ever, ever think of her as more than a friend.

But Quinn was real and they'd both be in New York.

"What's this?" Quinn asked from across the room.

"What's what?" Brittany asked, glad she could stop thinking.

Quinn held up a picture of Santana from the school magazine. Brittany's eyes went wide. She remembered when she had bought the school magazine about a year and a half ago and torn out all the pages that had pictures of or talked about Santana. This was right at the peak of her crush on the cheerleader.

"Oh, umm…"

Quinn began to pull out more papers and all of them were about or had pictures of Santana. Brittany had totally forgotten about the one semester where she had gone a little Santana Lopez happy with collecting media clippings of the ULA superstar.

"Why do you have all these magazine and school paper clippings of Santana?" Quinn asked, the expression on her face somewhere between confusion and surprise.

"You can throw those out," Brittany said and hoped her face wasn't too red from utter embarrassment.

"Britt?"

Brittany got up and went over to Quinn. She reached down and collected every Santana Lopez clipping and bunched it up in her hands, "It's trash." She took the papers and dumped them in the wastebasket by her desk.

"Why do you have all those Santana clippings?" Quinn asked again, getting up.

"Nothing, it's stupid," Brittany said. The hem of her shirt suddenly became very interesting.

"What is?"

Brittany let out a groan in frustration, "Fine. I… I sort of had a small, tiny, like really little, crush on Santana."

"A crush?"

"Yeah," Brittany admitted, "You know she's like the Angelina Jolie of ULA. And who doesn't have a crush on Angelina Jolie?"

"So you have thing for her?" Quinn asked and Brittany could have sworn she saw sadness in Quinn's eyes.

"No," Brittany said shaking her head, "I mean, it's just a, I mean was, a silly crush."

"So, you don't have a crush on her now?"

"Umm, no," Brittany said, hating the uncertainty in her voice.

"You don't sound so sure," Quinn said.

"I don't have thing for her," Brittany said more firmly, "And those magazine pages are like from two years ago. I totally forgot I had them. Half the school has a crush on her and I was just one of them. Like when I was in high school I had a whole scrapbook dedicated to Justin Timberlake but that doesn't mean I want to, like marry him. Well, maybe back then I did, but not anymore."

Quinn gave Brittany a weak smile. "OK."

"I don't!" Brittany insisted. She felt the need to clear things up with Quinn, "It's just like, I guess I've been crushing on her for so long, maybe there's like left over crush feelings or something. I still think Justin Timberlake is cute."

Quinn went to sit on the couch, "OK."

"Stop saying that," Brittany said, going to sit next to Quinn, "Anyway, Santana is my friend now. That's it. Even if I did still collect pictures of her, which I don't, it's not like she'd return the feelings."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Quinn said softly.

"What?"

"Nothing," Quinn said looking up at Brittany, "Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something, like I did that day at my mom's restaurant…"

"What is it?" Brittany asked noticing that Quinn seemed to having trouble with something and Brittany really wanted to give her a hug.

"Look, I…don't want to be the second fiddle here."

"Umm, OK?" Brittany was getting confused.

"It's like you have a song stuck in your head. Has that ever happened to you? You walk around all day with the same tune playing over and over."

"Yes!" Brittany said, glad she understood at least part of what Quinn was saying, "I hate that. I usually have to end up listening to the song a couple of times to finally get it out of my head."

"Exactly!" Quinn said, "And maybe that's what Santana is. Just a song you need to listen to to get rid of."

Brittany scratched her head. There were so many music references and she was getting confused. Maybe if Quinn used movie references she'd understand more of what she was trying to say. "I, I don't get what you're saying."

Quinn reached over and took one of Brittany's hands, "I get it, you know, having a crush on someone you see on TV or in magazines. I had the biggest crush on Leonardo DiCaprio for a while, but then I got a chance to meet him and that bubble I had him in just broke. He was just a regular guy."

"Yeah, that's what happened with Santana," Brittany said, "Like now that I know her, she's nothing like what I thought she'd be. She's like a good friend now."

Quinn went on, "Then in high school I developed the biggest crush on Jackie Morgan. Most popular girl in school. I made up all these fantasies in my head on how I could get her to notice me, but she never did. And for a while I still had these lingering feelings. It sucked. I knew she didn't know I existed, and I knew nothing would ever come of it, but that lingering feeling was still there even after we graduated."

Brittany listened to Quinn and couldn't help but feel more connected to her. She understood her feeling for Santana and wasn't making fun of them. Maybe she did need to spend more time with Santana and fully get over this romantic image of her and start seeing her more like a friend. She was sure that's what Quinn was saying.

"So, you're a Bicorn too?" Brittany asked.

"Bicorn?"

"Yeah," Brittany said with a smile, "It's what my little niece calls me. She's only like seven and doesn't really get it, that I like boys and girls, so she says I'm a Bicorn."

"That has to be the cutest thing I've ever heard," Quinn said with a laugh, "And yeah, I'm a Bicorn too."

Brittany had already suspected Quinn was like her. She had caught Quinn checking out some of the cheerleaders when they were filming the video and had also caught her checking out Mike when he had taken off his shirt to put on the ULA T-shirt the squad had given him. Brittany had met a lot of girls at this school who said they were bisexual but it almost always turned out they were just trying to mess around or to get some guy's attention. It was nice knowing someone like her, someone who wasn't just messing around with their sexuality for fun.

Brittany smiled. "Awesome."

Quinn let go of Brittany's hand, "Before we go to New York, I'll talk about that thing I've been wanting to talk about, OK?"

Brittany nodded.

"But for now, I'll just wait. We'll have plenty of time once we leave." Quinn slowly leaned in and kissed Brittany right on the corner of her mouth. Brittany's eyes began to slowly close and felt that warm flush she had felt that first time Quinn had kissed her on the cheek.

But before Brittany could do anything, Quinn pulled back, "I'm going to go. Sorry I didn't help pack more stuff."

"Umm, it's, it's OK," Brittany stammered, "I still have plenty of time, remember?"

Quinn smiled and got up, "Remember what I said Britt, get that song out of your head and then maybe you can start singing a new one."

"I will," Brittany said.

With one last smile, Quinn left. Brittany let out a breath. Yeah, she definitely had a crush on Quinn too.

###

On the drive to the magazine interview, Santana couldn't get what Mercedes said, or almost said, out of her mind.

"Was Mercedes going to say my name?" Santana wondered out loud, "No, no, can't be."

It was insane. Santana was sure she was assuming wrong. She had heard Mercedes say "Sant" which could very well mean Santiago. Or Santos. Or Santa. Yeah, maybe Brittany stopped having a crush on Santa.

"Santa? Are you fucking serious, Santana?" She asked herself in frustration.

Santana tried to put this new bit of information out of her mind as she arrived at the small photo studio where the reporter and photographer for Los Angeles Magazine were waiting. When she got out of her car, she noticed a familiar car parked just a few spots down. Kate's car.

"The fuck?"

Santana quickly went inside and to her surprise found Kate laughing with both the reporter and the photographer.

"Santana!" Kate said, her voice sounding ever so sweet and friendly.

"Kate, what are you doing here?" Santana asked, knowing she was being rude by ignoring the two men next to Kate.

"I was just talking to Peter and Josh here."

Santana took one look at Kate and knew she was now in "Actress Mode".

"Santana, welcome. I'm Peter," he said coming forward, "I'm the reporter. And that over there is Josh, the photographer."

Santana quickly recovered and greeted Peter, "Of course. Sorry, I'm pleased to meet you."

"Likewise. So we'll do the pictures first," Peter said, "Josh will get you all set up."

"Great," Santana said, "But, can you give me a minute? I need to talk to Kate for a bit."

"Of course," Peter said with a smile, "Just let me know."

As soon as Peter was across the room, Santana went over to her ex-girlfriend, "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Umm, being interviewed," Kate said making it sound like it was pretty obvious.

"We broke up, remember?" Santana said, "This article is about me. Not you."

"Figgins told me I'd be featured, so I'm going to get featured," Kate said, crossing her arms, "No way am I giving up this publicity."

"Oh, so that's it," Santana scoffed, "This is just you being a fame whore."

"Fuck you Santana!" Kate said trying to control her voice, "I'm doing this! If you ruin it, I can very easily tell the reporter some interesting stories about you. Imagine how it would look if ULA's superstar had their dirty laundry out there for everyone in L.A. to read."

"What dirty laundry?" Santana asked, confused. Aside from being in the spotlight, Santana was a pretty boring person. There weren't any scandals to her name. Unless returning books to the library late counted as a scandal.

Kate's smile was almost sinister, "Oh, I don't know. How about the captain of the squad sleeping with a few of her teammates?"

"How is that a scandal?" Santana asked, "Things like that happen all the time."

"Yeah, but it's interesting that those girls you did sleep with somehow ended up being featured more on the squad. Got more camera time and other little perks."

"So you're going to twist it around like I gave them special treatment for sex?" Santana asked. She felt nothing but disgust for Kate. She couldn't believe she had actually dated her.

"Or how about," Kate continued, "I tell them you slept with the director of that cheer video."

Santana did a double take, "Excuse me? That never happened. And don't you fucking dare bring Brittany into this!"

Kate reached into her pocket and took out a piece of paper, "I knew you were trying to get in her pants! Did she like the little sleep over you guys had?"

Santana snatched the paper Kate was holding. It was the note Brittany had left the morning after she had slept over. "Where did you get this?"

"Silly me," Kate said with a bitter laugh, "I went back to your place the next day, you know, to try to work things out and I found this on your desk. I mean, what kind of fucking note is that? It sounds like a 10 year old wrote it."

"Fuck you!" Santana spat, "Don't talk about her like that! You don't know anything and I swear if you drag her name into this, I will destroy you!"

"Look at you defending your little conquest," Kate said, her tone nothing but bitter.

"I told you, nothing…, you know what?" Santana was tired of this, "It's none of your business. Brittany and I are just friends and she has nothing to do with this." Santana took a breath, "Fine. Be part of this dog and pony show. I don't care. I'm only doing this for the school."

"Great!" Kate said with a big smile. It was almost as if she turned off her evil conniving bitch switch.

Santana shook her head. "You said you loved me. This is how you treat someone you love?"

"I'm angry," Kate said, "You did this. Not me."

"Excuse me, ladies!" Peter said, "I'm sorry but we really should get started."

Santana turned to Kate, "Let's get this over with. And I want the key to my apartment back."

Santana put Brittany's note in her purse. She couldn't wait to get this over with and leave.

###

Brittany didn't feel like packing anymore after Quinn left. She went to The Bean to try to get some other assignments done. She figured she'd just stay there for the next couple of hours until her tutoring session started. As much as she tried to concentrate on the work on her laptop, all she could think about was Santana and Quinn. All she could think about was the fact that she liked them both more than she should.

Brittany had told Quinn that she didn't have a crush on Santana anymore and that was true. She didn't have a crush on the Santana that was in magazine clippings and her throwing all those press clippings in the trash proved that. But there was still something there. Brittany would often think about that night in Santana's apartment and how much fun they had had. The Real Santana was just so easy to like. She was sweet, nice, caring, funny, playful and even more beautiful than in those magazines.

"Ugh!" Brittany groaned. She wished she could be like those Pollyanna people where it was OK to like more than one person at the same time.

Maybe Quinn was right and Santana was just a song that was stuck in her head. She was sure that if she spent more time with Santana she'd come to think of her as nothing more than a friend. She had to stop thinking that being around Santana would turn out like one of her unrealistic fantasies.

Brittany heard the bell of the front door and looked up to see Mike coming inside. She smiled and waved him over. After he got his drink, he joined her.

Brittany hadn't seen Mike all that much these past few weeks and she sort of missed him. Besides Mercedes, Mike was the only other person she considered a good friend. Well, Quinn too, but that was just all sorts of complicated now.

"Hey Spielberg," Mike said sitting across from Brittany, placing his ice cold Frappuccino on the table, "Nice to see you. I was starting to think you were ditching me."

"No way!" Brittany said, "I've just been so busy."

"Are you meeting Santana here?"

"How did you know?" Brittany asked, surprised.

"Word on campus is that you and Santana are buddies now," Mike said, "You're climbing up the popularity ladder, my friend. A little late but, hey, at least you'll graduate with some notoriety."

"Why?"

"Just for hanging out with Ms. Popularity," Mike said, "A lot of people know who you are now."

Brittany didn't like knowing that people were talking about her. It made her uncomfortable.

"Anyway," Mike went on, "Thanks for sending me a copy of the cheer video. It was really good. The make up was awesome of course."

Brittany laughed, glad to change the subject, "Thanks for doing that."

"No problem," Mike said, "I'd love to work with you again but I hear you got a fancy job in New York."

"Who told you that?" Brittany asked. Mike seemed to know everything.

"Holly," Mike said, "She's pretty much telling anyone who will listen that her favorite student is going places."

Brittany smiled. Holly really was the best and like the big sister she never had.

"And Quinn got the job too," Mike went on, "I hear New York is awesome. You guys are going to have a blast."

"I hope so," Brittany said, "So what about you? You applied to that studio in Burbank right?"

"Yup," Mike said, his smile impossibly big, "Just got the call yesterday. You are looking at the new assistant, to the assistant of the head of special effects at New Directions Studios. I start the week after graduation."

"Awesome!" Brittany said. She was so happy for him and loved the he too would be working for a studio.

"It's pretty much the lowest of the low in terms of positions, but gotta start somewhere, right?" Mike asked.

"It's still awesome," Brittany said, "I read that New Direction Studios is like on track to become a big player."

"I hope so!" Mike said, "Hey, if that New York thing doesn't work out, maybe you can work at New Directions and we can do another project together."

"Maybe," Brittany said, "If I get fired or something, I'm calling you to get me a job."

"Deal!" Mike said.

The door to The Bean swung open and Brittany saw Sugar came in.

"Brittany!" Sugar called out and headed to the table.

"Hey Sugar," Brittany said, "What's up?"

"Hey," Sugar said taking a seat. She turned to Mike, "I know you, I think."

"Mike Chang," he said, "We had Abnormal Psych together last semester."

"Oh right, right," Sugar said, "Only class I've been able to use in the real world so far."

"You look all frazzled," Brittany said, "What happened?"

"I'm burned out!" Sugar said sounding frustrated, "I haven't had a night out in ages!"

"God, me too," Mike said.

Sugar clapped her hands in excitement, "I think this calls for a bar night!"

"That sounds like fun," Mike said.

Brittany shrugged her shoulders, "Sure, I guess."

"Fantastic!" Sugar said, "How about this Friday at The Red Barron? I'll round up my usual suspects. Let's see there's Puck, Tina, Santana, Sam, Kurt, Mercedes, and you guys. Oh and Britt, you can totally bring your lady friend Quinn."

"Great," Brittany said not sure why Sugar was looking at her with an expression like she knew a secret, "I was going to anyway."

"I figured," Sugar said and winked, "Well done."

"Umm, thanks?" Brittany wasn't sure what was going on.

"OK!" Sugar said getting up, "I'll text you all details later. Later fools!" And with that Sugar was gone.

"That should be fun," Mike said taking sip of his drink.

Brittany just nodded. She really could use a night of fun. Though, having the two people who were confusing her there was probably not a good idea.

###

Except for Kate, the interview and photo shot had gone surprisingly well. Santana had told the truth about her relationship with Kate, that they were no longer a couple but remained great friends. OK, maybe she only told half the truth. It didn't matter. All Kate wanted was her name in print and her picture in a magazine. Santana on the other hand, didn't care. All she really wanted was that job in the English department this fall.

All through the day, however, she couldn't stop thinking about what Mercedes had almost said this morning. She felt this burning need to know if Brittany did indeed have a thing for her. And if she did, then what? Santana was no stranger to people having crushes on her. Shit, half the school did and she never cared. But with Brittany? The thought of Brittany seeing her as more than a friend actually gave her this weird tingle in the pit of her stomach.

But she couldn't think about that now. Right now, she was about to find out if she'd have a job this fall.

Santana sat in the waiting area out side the conference room the English board used for meetings.

"I guess this is it."

Santana was snapped out of her thoughts by Susan who had just arrived. "Guess this is it."

Susan sat next to Santana leaned in way too close for Santana's liking, "I heard about you and Kate. You're better off."

"Thanks," Santana said trying to inch away from her.

"Maybe you and I could hang out after this," Susan said, her voice trying to be flirty but was coming across incredibly annoying to Santana.

Santana turned to Susan in disbelief, "Are you serious, right now? We're about to find out who is getting this job, a job that can jump start our careers, and you're hitting on me?"

"Sure," Susan smirked, "It's no secret I think you're hot and I know you want me too."

Santana wasn't sure how she managed not to burst out in laughter. "I'm going to pass on that. In a few minutes one if us is going to get screwed over."

Susan leaned back in her chair, "I'll make sure the board writes you a good letter of recommendation, Santana."

"Oh, so you think you're getting this job?"

"Let's just say, my family is a big part of this school," Susan said smugly.

The door to the conference room opened and Will summoned them inside. The meeting only lasted twenty minutes and at the end of it, all of Susan's money couldn't buy her the job.

Santana left the room with a proud smile on her face. Her place at this school was set. This is where she'd spend the next two years and if Santana had her way, this is where she'd continue her career. Her ultimate goal was becoming the dean of this school and she was well on her way.

With Susan out of the picture, Santana's professional life was on the right track. With Kate out of the picture, her personal life was better. There was just one thing she wasn't sure about.

###

After Sugar and Mike had left, Brittany had actually managed to get a lot of work finished. She looked at the clock on her computer and saw that she only had like five minutes before Santana showed up. She turned off her computer and took out her finished English paper. She had purposely chosen to sit at a table that was facing the door so she could see Santana come in. She didn't want to get scared again since Santana loved to appear out of thin air.

Behind Brittany, just a few feet away, Santana stood and watched Brittany put away her laptop and take out a stack of papers. She had actually arrived at The Bean 10 minutes ago but when she had come in, Brittany was concentrating on her laptop and hadn't noticed her. Santana had just walked in and had gone straight to the back where The Bean had set up a makeshift book and magazine area. She felt like a creepy stalker.

But Santana wasn't stalking, she was just a little nervous. She couldn't look at Brittany without thinking of what had happened this morning. What if Brittany did at one point have a crush on me, Santana wondered, what if she was with Quinn now. Santana wasn't sure which answer she wanted.

She took a deep breath. She was being ridiculous.

Brittany looked at the clock on her phone. Santana was two minutes late, which really wasn't much, but Brittany was starting to wonder if maybe Santana had lost her car keys again.

"You should cover your blind spots."

Brittany almost jumped out of her seat when she heard Santana's voice behind her. "Holy shit! Where did you come from?"

Santana laughed. It felt great. After the day she had, laughter was just the thing she needed, "Magic."

Brittany got up and faced Santana. She was really glad to see her but also a little nervous. What song would Santana be, Brittany wondered. Brittany stepped closer and brought Santana in for a hug, "Long time no see."

Santana wasn't laughing anymore. Her arms automatically wrapped around Brittany's neck and she tightened the hug. Was this a clue, Santana wondered. Was the fact that Brittany was hugging her mean she still had a crush on her? No, Santana thought. Brittany had hugged her a few times already. This didn't mean anything. The smell of Brittany's hair stopped any other thoughts from forming in Santana's mind.

"What shampoo do you use?" Santana asked pulling back. She needed to know what that amazing smell was.

Brittany laughed, "I haven't seen you in two weeks and that's the first question you ask? You're silly." Brittany turned back to her table and sat down.

"I'm unpredictable like that," Santana said sitting across from Brittany.

"It's this homemade shampoo from one of those soap stores," Brittany said, "Why?"

Santana shrugged her shoulders, "Smells nice."

Brittany looked down at her papers. She didn't want Santana to see the smile on her face, "Thanks."

Despite Brittany looking down, Santana saw the smile on her face. There was no doubt Brittany was cute. And sweet. And…

"How's Quinn? You guys seem like good friends," Santana randomly asked. She needed to escape her train of thought because if she kept going she'd come to realize something that had probably been simmering in the back of her mind since they ate those banana splits. Maybe even before that.

"She's like one of my closest friends now. She's doing fine," Brittany said, "Holly's keeping her busy. I think she's trying to get as much work out of her as she can before Quinn leaves for New York."

Santana raised and eyebrow, "So, Quinn got that summer job too? I remember you mentioned her to that lady you were talking to on the phone, but I wasn't sure." One thing Santana had picked up on was the fact that Brittany had called Quinn her friend. At least on that note, Mercedes had been wrong. Maybe Quinn was telling the truth about not being gay.

"Yeah," Brittany said, smiling, "We both got a spot. We can't wait!"

Santana tried to sound casual, "So the both of you are going to New York together?"

Brittany nodded, "Have you ever been?"

"To New York? Umm, once when I was like seven. I think it was fun," Santana said, "I can't really remember."

Brittany suddenly realized that all they ever did was talk about her or her new job and never about what Santana's plans were for after graduation, "What about you? What are you doing after graduation?"

Santana smiled and was glad to tell Brittany everything. Well, maybe not everything. Brittany didn't have to hear that Kate had read her note and had threatened to spread rumors about her.

"Santana! That's amazing!" Brittany said, sounding excited and happy, "You're going to rule this school next semester!"

"That's the plan," Santana said.

Brittany had never met anyone so smart. She always figured smart people were like super nerds, but Santana was the opposite. She wished she had more time with her. It wasn't fair that after all this time, all she ever wanted was to get to know Santana and now that she had it was too late. Santana may be a song stuck in her head, but she found she really liked that song and wanted to keep hearing it.

Santana saw the sad look in Brittany's eyes, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Brittany said, with a sad smile, "I just wish we had become friends sooner. Like Freshman year."

"Me too," Santana said with such sincerity that she didn't think she was capable of, "But hey, no one says we can't still be friends after graduation, right?"

"Right!" Brittany said, cheering up a little.

Santana knew she and Brittany would somehow stay connected after graduation. She just felt it. And she figured that after Brittany came back from New York, they pick up where they left off. But there was that nagging feeling though. That possible slip of the tongue by Mercedes. Santana needed to know. She had planned on being subtle and seeing if she could pick up on any signs that Brittany liked her more than a friend, but thinking of doing that now, seemed like too much work.

"So, Britt," Santana said. She was just going to ask. "You know what what I'm looking forward to most after graduation?"

"Your job?"

"Well, sure," Santana said, "But I think I'm going to love not being the campus celebrity anymore. It's crazy. So many guys and girls coming up to me telling me they have crushes on me. Even some of my friends."

Brittany was sure her heart almost burst through her chest. She wondered if Quinn told Santana about the magazine clippings. No, Quinn would never do that, she thought. "Umm, I'm sure."

"I'm sure you knew about me," Santana said carefully, "From all the publicity."

"Mmm hmm." Brittany wondered why it was so hot all of a sudden.

"Did you...ever have a crush on me?" Santana asked as casually as she could make her voice sound. And there it was. The question was out there. Either Mercedes was going to say someone else's name and Brittany would just laugh off the question or Mercedes was going to say her name and Brittany would...

Brittany felt like her cheeks were on fire. Actually her whole body felt like someone had jammed a torch in there and lit it up. She reached for her almost gone ice tea and finished it off. Her mouth felt like the it was covered in sandpaper.

"Me?" Brittany managed to croak out, "Why would you think I have..had, might have, umm, a crush on you?"

Santana felt like she wanted to crawl under the table from embarrassment. She shouldn't have asked, "No, I'm just..I just want to make sure that you don't..or did."

"So you think just because you're like a superstar around here, everyone crushes on you?," Brittany asked. She needed to get the attention off of herself. She hated lying and was never any good at it, and Mercedes had told her to always answer a question with a question when she didn't want to lie.

"What? No," Santana said shaking her head. Brittany probably thought she was a complete narcissist, "I just... never mind. Is that your paper? Did you start already?" Santana reached across the table and took the papers in front of Brittany. She was glad to change the subject.

"Umm, yeah," Brittany said. She took in a breath and was happy to talk about something else, "I wrote eleven pages."

"Eleven?" Santana asked the shock in her voice not lost on Brittany, "How did you write eleven pages?"

"Well, I really liked the book," Brittany said, "And I just followed all the tips you gave me last time. I know it's not that great, but I wanted to surprise you with a finished paper."

With all the madness of today, Santana had forgotten about Brittany's surprise. She smiled, "This is the best surprise ever."

"Really?"

"Yes," Santana said, "The fact that you were able to write all this just from the stuff I taught you last time, is amazing. I'm proud of you, but it also makes me proud of myself. I guess I am a good teacher."

Brittany reached across the table and lightly squeezed Santana's hand, "You're an amazing teacher. If you had been my teacher here at this school, I'd probably be graduating with Honors."

Santana felt like a small electric current had run from her hand to her chest, "Tha..thanks."

Brittany squeezed Santana's had a little, wanting to feel just how soft they were for a second more, before she let go. Looking at Santana now, she seemed a little flustered and Brittany had to admit she looked kind of adorable. She really couldn't lie to her. "Maybe a I did," She said leaning back in her chair.

"Did what?" Santana asked. She was a bit disappointed that Brittany had let go so fast.

"Have a crush on you," Brittany admitted with a shy smile, "It's kinda of hard not to have one. I mean, you're Santana Lopez."

There was that feeling again. The feeling where she felt warmth through her body but still got chills. She let out a nervous laugh, "Umm, let's uh, let's see what you wrote."

The rest of their time was spent on improving Brittany's paper but Santana had to admit that there was now a different vibe between her and Brittany. She liked it.

-**tbc**-

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and for reading! And someone actually guessed where this story was going. Kudos to you! ;-)**


	12. Red Manhattan

Santana made one final note on Brittany's paper and let out a breath. She leaned back in her desk chair and stretched.

She thought back to the tutoring session with Brittany the day before yesterday and wished it had been longer but at the same time, was glad for the interruption. Santana had gotten a call from Figgins asking to see her about about filling out all the proper paperwork for her new job.

Santana and Brittany had only managed to go through half the paper when Santana got the call and Brittany had asked her to take the paper with her to edit.

"I'm used to the teacher's read marker bleeding all my papers," Brittany had told her, "So, go crazy."

Santana smiled looking at Brittany's paper. It was an OK paper. If Santana had graded it just as Brittany had written it, she probably would have given it a 'C'. A grade Santana considered really good for Brittany who only a few weeks ago couldn't write more than two pages. Brittany's progress really had been the best surprise Santana had gotten in a really long time.

But now, with all the edits Santana had done, she knew Brittany would get another 'A'. And there was that feeling again. That feeling of being proud of Brittany more than she had ever felt proud of herself.

She took a breath and took out her phone but hesitated before dialing. There was still that whole crush business. While there had been no more talk about that after Brittany admitted she did used to have a crush on Santana, it still seemed to linger the rest of their session. For that, Santana had been glad the session had been cut short.

But Brittany did say she "had" a crush on her which implies that she doesn't anymore and Santana, much to her surprise, was actually disappointed.

Infatuations came with being popular and being the pseudo-celebrity on campus. There were a few time she used that little perk to hook up with girls, but that was always just that. A hook up. Santana knew these girls only liked her because of her popularity and would only be using her to gain some sort of status at the school. That's what Kate had done. Thinking back now to her relationship with Kate, Santana couldn't remember why she had asked the actress to be her girlfriend. Temporary insanity, she thought.

That was the one thing Santana hated about her image at ULA. She could never tell if people really wanted to be her friend or they were just caught up in the whole campus celebrity parade of it all. She was thankful she had met Sam, Kurt, Sugar and Tina before she became the "It" girl.

Santana looked up Brittany's number, hit "Talk" and waited. One ring. Two rings.

"Greetings and salutations!" Brittany said.

"What kind of greeting as that?" Santana asked with a laugh.

"I heard it on some old movie," Brittany said, "Hello was getting too boring."

"Well then, greetings and salutations to you too Brittany."

Brittany grinned. She had been afraid that after she had admitted her crush to Santana, things would be weird. But they weren't. In fact, things were the opposite of weird. "Did you finish grading my paper?"

"I did," Santana said, "And it's good. I made some notes and wanted to talk to you about them. Are you free for lunch?"

"I think so," Brittany said, "I'm helping Holly with some stuff but, yeah, I can meet you."

"Great!" Santana said, maybe with a little too much enthusiasm. She cleared her throat, "Cool."

"The Bean? 1 o'clock?"

"Sure," Santana said, "But one of these days we should go somewhere else besides The Bean."

"Like the library?" Brittany asked.

"No, I mean," Santana said, "I mean we should, hang out...sometime. Like you said! You know, since we're friends now."

Jesus, Santana thought, I must sound like an idiot.

"For sure!" Brittany said, "We should hang out before I leave for New York. I don't think hanging out through Skype would be as fun."

"Hey, it could still be fun," Santana said. She made a mental note to create a Skype account.

"Maybe," Brittany said with a slight giggle, "But we'll hang out tonight, right? You're going to Sugar's Bar Night?"

"I'll be there with bells on," Santana said then quickly winced from embarrassment. Bells, she thought, did I really say bells?

"You're wearing bells?" Brittany asked sounding excited, "That's awesome! I can't wait to see your outfit!"

"No Britt, it's just an expression," Santa said, "Forget I said that."

"Well, OK," Brittany said, disappointed, "I gotta go, Santana. I'll see you later."

"Bye Britt," Santana said.

After they hung up Santana just concentrated on the familiar feeling she seemed to always get whenever she saw or talked with Brittany. She always came away feeling happier, relaxed and even a little giddy. All feelings Santana rarely felt.

"Oh shit," she said out loud.

Brittany may have gotten over her crush, but Santana suddenly realized maybe she had one of her own.

She picked up her phone and dialed. After the third ring, there was an answer.

"OK, you may have been right about Brittany," Santana forced herself to say.

All she could hear was Kurt's laughter on the other end.

"Fuck you, Kurt!"

"Sorry, but you're so obvious," Kurt said, his laughter under control, "What brought this realization."

"I don't know," Santana said, "She makes me laugh."

"Laughter is the best medicine," Kurt said, "No wait, that's not right. Laughter is the key to the heart? No, I don't think that's right either."

"Who gives a shit!" Santana said, impatient, "And hold your gay horse! I'm not saying I'm in love with her and want to have her lady babies. I'm just saying she makes me laugh and she's cute."

"Sure."

"I just got out of a relationship Kurt," Santana said, "The last thing I want is another one. And besides, Brittany is my friend. Friend! That's it."

"Then why did you call me to tell me I was right?" Kurt asked and Santana could practically hear the amusement in his voice.

"So you would stop giving me those creepy looks!" Santana said, "Ever since Rachel's show, you've been so weird with me."

"If you say so," Kurt said.

The sound of Kurt's tone being so casual made Santana angry. "I'm hanging up now. I shouldn't have called."

"I cannot wait until tonight to see this whole new thing in action."

"Fuck you," Santana said and hung up.

She really shouldn't have called.

###

"What about these?" Brittany asked.

She was going through some of Holly's files and packing them up in boxes so they could be put in storage.

"Pack those up too," Holly said, "I really should clean out my filing cabinets more than once every few years."

"Are you packing up for the summer?" Brittany asked.

"Sure am," Holly said, "Oh hey, I've been meaning to ask, when are you leaving for New York?"

"I have no idea," Brittany said putting more files in the box, "I still don't even have a place to live. I mean, my parents did say I could stay with my great-aunt and uncle, but that doesn't sound like much fun."

"Come on, old folks can be fun," Holly joked, "Anyway, you can always find a cool bachelorette pad later. What about Quinn?"

"What about me?" Quinn asked coming into the office. She had gone to the vending machine down the hall to get them all drinks.

Holly took the soda Quinn was offering, "Just wondering when you crazy ladies were jet setting of to The Big Apple. I was thinking the three of us could be travel buddies."

"Yes!" Brittany said, excited, "I'd love that."

"Sure, sign me up," Quinn said handing Brittany her soda.

Brittany smiled and Quinn quickly looked away. Ever since Brittany had admitted to her crush on Santana, Quinn had been acting different. It was almost as if she wanted avoid Brittany and Brittany didn't like it at all.

"Sweet! I have to leave about a week after graduation" Holly said. She put the lid on the box she was working on and picked it up. "If that's good for you two, I can take care of all the travel arrangement. Have an ex-boyfriend who's a pilot so I can get us killer discounts."

Both Brittany and Quinn nodded.

"This is going to rock!" Holly said, "Alright, I'll be back. Going to put this puppy in the storage room."

After Holly left, Quinn began packing another box without saying a word.

Brittany looked at Quinn and hated that something felt weird between them. She had expected things to be weird with Santana, but not Quinn. Brittany felt like she needed to fix whatever was happening.

"It'll be fun," Brittany said, "You know, traveling with Holly."

"I'm sure it will," Quinn said, not stopping her work.

Brittany let out a breath, "Umm, yeah. So, are you busy tonight? Sugar's having a Bar Night thing and a bunch of us are going and I wanted to see if you wanted to go."

Quinn stopped working and looked up, "Who's going?"

"Mike, Mercedes, Santana, Kurt, Rachel, I think," Brittany said trying to remember, "Umm, Puck, Sam…"

"I think I'll pass, but thanks," Quinn said and began working again, "I haven't packed anything and I should really start."

Brittany pouted in disappointment and walked over to Quinn, "Are you mad at me?"

Quinn stopped packing and looked up, "No, of course not."

"Then how come you've been avoiding me these past two days?" Brittany asked.

Quinn slightly slumped her shoulders and let out a breath, "I'm sorry. It's not you. I'm…I'm just being a jerk."

"Well stop it!" Brittany said, "I don't like it."

Quinn let out a soft chuckle, "I'm just trying to step back and I can't really do that if I'm around you all the time."

Brittany felt like she finally understood what was happening. She could never tell when people liked her. Brittany has always seen herself as a film geek who loves animals and not some hot girl everyone wanted. That wasn't her. It had taken Jesse practically hitting her over the head to get her to realize he wanted to be her boyfriend.

Looking at Quinn now, and thinking back to that night at the sushi restaurant when Quinn said she liked her, Brittany now knew it was more than just a friend.

"Oh," Brittany said softly.

"I like you Brittany," Quinn said shyly, "And not just as a friend. I think you're amazing and I like being around you. We have so much in common and, I don't know, I just…"

Brittany couldn't help but give Quinn a small smile, "I like you too Quinn." And she did. Quinn was right, they had so much in common and there was never a moment where they had nothing to talk about. Being with Quinn just felt so easy and fun and she felt happy when they hung out.

Quinn smiled, "Really?"

Brittany nodded.

Just as fast as Quinn's smile had appeared, it disappeared, "But you also like Santana." It wasn't a question.

Brittany blinked in surprise then looked down and slowly nodded.

"Yeah," Quinn said letting out a breath, "I figured."

"Sorry," Brittany said softly.

"Don't be sorry," Quinn said, "Like I said, Santana is just a song stuck in your head. But just remember Britt, I'll be in New York and she won't."

Brittany knew Quinn had a point. Even if by some miracle Santana was attracted to her, nothing could ever come of it because they'd be living in opposite ends of the country. Before Brittany could say anything more, there was a knock at the door.

"Excuse me."

Brittany and Quinn turned around. The door was actually already open, and Brittany could see who their guest was.

"Hi Susan," Brittany said.

"Brittany S. Pierce," Susan said, "Haven't seen you since my lecture. How are you?"

"Good, good," Brittany said, "How about you?"

"I've been better," Susan said bitterly.

"Oh, uh, sorry to hear that," Brittany said, not really sure what else to say. She turned to Quinn, "Umm, this is Quinn Fabray. She's Holly's assistant."

"Oh hi!" Susan said, "I guess I should talk to you."

"Quinn," Brittany continued, "This is Susan Davidson. She's a student here and her family, like owns half the school."

"A lot of good that did me," Susan said.

Brittany wasn't sure what was up with Susan, but she looked mad and annoyed.

"Hi," Quinn said, "What can I do for you?"

"Is Holly around?" Susan asked, "I have the check for my family's donation to your department."

"Oh right, right," Quinn said, "Holly mentioned someone from your estate would be dropping by. I guess we were just expecting a messenger."

"I was in the area," Susan said, "And I like Holly. She and her department didn't screw me over like the damn English department."

"What do you mean?" Brittany asked.

"You'd think that with my family donating so much money to this damn school, they could at least show some respect," Susan said, "But no. Instead I get screwed over by Santana Fucking Lopez."

The job, Brittany thought. Santana had told her she had beaten out another student for her assistant job this fall, but she never said a name. It was Susan. "Oh, well, there's always other jobs," Brittany said gently.

"Fuck other jobs," Susan said, "This job was supposed to be mine…hey wait, how do you know about a job?"

Brittany licked her lips and gulped, "Umm, Santana may have mentioned…"

"Oh! So you are friends with that vulture," Susan scoffed, "Word of warning, stay away from that one."

"Why?" Quinn asked before Brittany could say anything.

"She pretended to by my friend, flirted with me and made me think she liked me," Susan said crossing her arms. The hatred in her voice strong, "Then she sweet talks herself into this job, that was supposed to be mine, and now she wants nothing to do with me. Can you believe that? I bet she just wanted to use my family's name to get ahead somehow."

Brittany shook her head. No way Santana would do something like that. The person Susan was describing sounded horrible. That couldn't be Santana.

"Is that right?" Quinn asked, curious.

"Anyway," Susan said. She reached into her purse and pulled out a check, "Can you give this to Holly?" She handed the check over to Quinn, "My limo is waiting. Just remind her the official donation ceremony is next week. You know for photo ops with a giant check. But the department can cash this one any time they want."

"Thanks," Quinn said, "I'll tell her. Though, she should be back soon if you want to take to her."

"It's OK," Susan said, "I just want to get off this campus as soon as possible. I'm so glad I'm graduating. Oh, and tell Holly that my family will no longer be donating to the school. It's a shame because the film department was always appreciative of my family's money. But after what happened to me, I just cannot continue to support this school any longer."

"Umm sure," Quinn said, "I'll tell her."

"Have a great day ladies," Susan said and left.

Quinn turned to Brittany, "What was that about?"

"I guess she's mad that Santana beat her out for a job with the English department," Brittany said.

"I wonder if what she said about Santana is true," Quinn said, "That she used Susan and then dumped her when she got what she wanted."

Brittany shook her head, "No way. Santana wouldn't do that."

"I hope so," Quinn said, "Just, be careful around her."

"She wouldn't do that," Brittany insisted.

"I hope you're right," Quinn said.

Brittany looked at the clock on the wall. In a little over an hour she'd be meeting Santana. I'm just going to ask her about Susan, she thought.

###

Santana arrived at The Bean early. She wanted to get there first and order her and Brittany's food before Brittany got there. She was taking a big risk. What if Brittany didn't like what she ordered for her? What if Brittany got offended that Santana made a choice for her?

"Shit," she said softly. She wondered if it was too late to cancel her order. As she was about to get up to ask, she spotted Brittany entering.

"Hey!" Brittany said as she approached the table.

Santana automatically did what she always seemed to do when she saw her student. She smiled. "Hi."

Brittany hugged her friend hello. It just felt more natural than not giving her a hug, "I wanted to get here early to see if I could scare you." She let her go and took in a breath of Santana's perfume.

"You'll have to be slicker than that," Santana said and winked.

They sat across from each other and Brittany picked up her menu, "I'm so hungry! Quinn and I were helping Holly pack up her office all morning. I'm like dangerously low on calories."

Santana chuckled, "Dangerously?"

"Dangerously," Brittany confirmed with a smile.

"Well, I hope you don't get mad," Santana said, "I sort of ordered already."

"Oh that's cool," Brittany said, "You can totally start without me if..."

"No, I mean, I ordered for both of us," Santana said and hoped she wasn't being too forward.

"You did?"

"Yeah, I just wanted the food to be ready when you got here," Santana said, "It was a stupid idea. I mean, I don't even know if you're allergic to anything..."

"Santana, it's OK," Brittany said, with a light laugh, "I'm not allergic to anything. What'd you order me?"

"I played it as safe as possible," Santana said, "Burger and fries. And since you were drinking an ice tea last time, I ordered that too." Santana held her breath and hoped what she had ordered was fine.

"I'm a vegetarian," Brittany said with her most serious face.

"Oh, shit," Santana said, in a bit of a panic, "I'm sorry. I knew I should have waited...I'll see if I can stop the order or..." Brittany's light interrupted Santana. "You're not a vegetarian."

"Nope," Brittany said smiling, "I actually had chicken wings last night. So good."

"That was mean," Santana teased.

"I love burgers and fries," Brittany said, "Thanks. It was sweet of you to order for me."

As if on cue, the waiter brought them their food and drinks. Brittany looked at Santana and smiled. She was really coming to love spending time with her. Her friend. Friend. Brittany felt like she needed to keep reminding herself of this small detail. Santana was just a friend who made her laugh, and helped her, and made her feel like she could do anything, and a friend that she really wanted to have in her life, even if it would be long distance. Brittany sometimes wished Santana wasn't so beautiful so she wouldn't be attracted to her.

Santana took a sip of her Diet Coke and watched Brittany take a bite out of her burger. She had to admit that with all the shit she had had to deal with recently, the only thing she found herself looking forward to was seeing Brittany. God, I hate that Kurt was right, Santana thought. But she loved their friendship. It was still very new and Santana was afraid she'd mess it up by doing something crazy like asking her out.

Whoa, Santana slow down, she thought. When she told Kurt she didn't want to be in a relationship so soon, she was telling him the truth. The last thing on her mind was getting another girlfriend.

"Did you finish my paper?" Brittany asked after swallowing the piece of food in her mouth, "Did it totally suck?"

"That sounds like you're breaking one of our rules," Santana playfully chastised.

"Oh, right. Sorry." Brittany smiled.

"You did well," Santana said, "I would have given it a 'C' or 'C' minus."

"YES!" Brittany said pumping her arm in the air.

Santana shook her head amused at Brittany's enthusiasm for an average grade, "So I made notes and some edits. If you follow them, you should get another 'A'."

"I could never have graduated without you Santana," Brittany said, "I'm dedicating my first movie to you."

"Oh God, you don't have to do that."

"Yes, I do. Without you, I would fail and would lose this job. Your future students are going to be so lucky to have you as their teacher."

"Alright, stop." Santana said bashfully, "You're going to inflate my ego even more."

"Just telling the truth," Brittany said and took another bite of her hamburger.

Santana continued eating. She had grown up being good at almost everything and her parents and family always telling her she was the best. For a lot of her childhood she believed it and even got a little cocky. It wasn't until she began college that she sort of started to resent being told she was the best. After a while, she couldn't tell who was telling the truth and who was just kissing her ass. With Brittany though, Santana knew she was telling the truth and because of Brittany she knew that she would indeed make a great teacher.

They spent the rest of their lunch eating and talking about the paper.

"Where do you want to go to dinner?" Brittany asked putting her newly edited paper in her bag.

"What?" Santana asked, the word "date" immediately jumping in her mind.

"I owe you dinner remember?"

"Oh, right," Santana said. "Are you free tomorrow?"

"Perfect," Brittany said, "And I'll order for you this time."

"Sounds like a plan," Santana said.

"Cool, I'll pick you up at like 7?" Brittany asked.

Santana thought of that word again. Date. This wasn't a date. "Umm, yeah, OK."

If she hadn't been sitting down, Brittany was sure she would have jumped up in excitement. "Oh hey, you're going to Sugar's thing tonight, right?"

"Yes, I am," Santana said, "You are too, right?"

"Yup," Brittany said, "I'm going with Rachel. She's picking me up cause she wants to talk about her music video."

"Rachel?" Santana asked, surprised, "So, umm, Quinn isn't going?"

"No," Brittany said sadly, "She…no, she's not."

"Did you guys have a fight or something?" Santana asked. If they did, Santana was sure it was all Quinn's fault.

Brittany looked at Santana and debated telling her what was going on with her and Quinn but wasn't sure how to tell the story. She imagined what the conversation would be like...

_"Hey Santana, so Quinn likes me and I like her. But she backed off because, surprise, I like you too. That's right, I know I said I used to have a crush on you but, I lied, I still do! So what do you say, you wanna help me out?"_

Santana looked at Brittany and she just looked so conflicted. "Britt?."

"She was busy," was all Brittany said, "Anyway, what time are you getting there? Maybe we can hang out? I mean, I know we'll be in a group, but groups get separated and stuff..."

"I'd love to," Santana interrupted. Hearing Quinn wasn't going had already made this outing appealing, but hearing Brittany wanted to hang out with her, possibly all night, made Santana already declare this the best night ever.

"Great!" Brittany said, "Just to be clear, you're not wearing bells?"

"No," Santana said trying to stop herself from bursting out laughing. She had never met someone who could make her laugh like this.

"Just checking," Brittany said. She looked at clock on her phone and saw that she had to leave for her class. She started gathering her things, "OK, well, I have class."

"Right, OK," Santana said, slightly disappointed their lunch date was ending.

Once Brittany had her things in order she remembered what she had wanted to ask Santana, "Oh hey, Susan Davidson came by the film department today."

"She did? Why?"

"To give Holly the donation check," Brittany said, "She was, umm…"

"She was what?" Santana asked. She hadn't seen or heard from Susan since the day they met with the board. Susan had stormed out of the room so fast, no one had a chance to talk to her.

"She was mad," Brittany said, "Mad that you took her job."

Santana scoffed, "Spoiled rich bitch didn't get her way and is blaming me for her lack of talent."

Brittany raised her eyebrows in surprise. She hadn't really seen Mean Santana in a while and she had forgotten what she was like. Even when she had seen Santana annoyed with Rachel or Kurt, Brittany could tell Santana didn't hate them. But now, hearing her talk about Susan, Brittany could practically feel the hate Santana had for Susan coming out of her words.

"Oh, I know you are way more talented than her," Brittany said, "I mean you got me to write eleven pages. I don't think Susan could have done that."

"No she couldn't," Santana agreed.

"But, umm, at the lecture," Brittany went on, "I sort of got the impression you guys were friends. You were so nice to her."

Santana leaned forward a little, "Susan and I are not friends, at all. I was civil to her because my department needed her money. Sometimes you have to pretend to be nice to get what you want."

"So you just lie?" Brittany asked. She didn't like that what Susan had said was turning out to be true.

Santana shrugged her shoulders, "Yeah, I mean, sometimes you have to. Look Britt, Susan is not a nice person. She's spoiled, entitled and will stab you in the back without hesitation. If I see her again, it'll be too soon."

"OK," Brittany said. Although Susan had been nice to her, she really didn't know her. But she knew Santana, and if Santana said Susan wasn't a nice person, then Brittany believed her. "I'm glad you got the job over her. You deserve it."

"Thanks."

Brittany got up, "I really have to go now." She picked up her ice tea and took one last sip, finishing the sweet liquid. "These are so good. I'm going to get one to go. I'll see you tonight."

"I'll see you tonight," Santana said, a big smile on her face.

Brittany put her cup down and headed to the counter to get another ice tea.

Santana stayed seated. She still have half an hour before she herself had to got to class and decided just to wait at The Bean.

Brittany ordered her drink and took out her student I.D. to pay. One of the things she loved about ULA was that student's could use their student I.D as a credit card at any business that were on campus and just be billed later. As she took her ice tea and handed the clerk her I.D, her phone rang. It was Holly.

"Hey Holly," Brittany said walking away from the counter with her ice tea.

"Good news!" Holly said, "I got us 1st class tickets!"

"Sweet!" Brittany said and stepped out of the The Bean. She was listening to Holly talk and didn't notice Kurt. "Oh hey!"

"Hello, Miss Brittany," Kurt said.

Brittany was trying to listen to Holly and Kurt at the same time. "Sure..."

"Sorry," Kurt said, "I'll let you get back to your phone call. See you tonight?"

Brittany nodded.

Kurt winked at her and walked inside The Bean.

Santana looked up and saw Kurt enter. "Hey Porcelain! Over here." The annoyed look on Kurt's face makes her laugh.

"Stop calling me that," Kurt says sitting down.

"You know you love it!"

"So, I take it you just had another session with your cute school crush."

Santana rolled her eyes, "Don't start. It was all business."

"Sure it was," Kurt said, "Just ask her out."

"Are you insane! No! We're friends. If I asked out every girl I thought was cute, I would date half this school."

"Sometimes it seems like you have." Kurt teased.

"Well, Brittany isn't just some girl. I actually like spending time with her and even if I wanted to ask her out, she's not interested in me anymore."

"Anymore?" Kurt asked, surprised.

"Nothing," Santana said.

"But…" Kurt began.

The door chime to the The Bean went off. Brittany was halfway down the courtyard when she realized she had forgotten her I.D at the counter. She went back and the clerk was already waiting for her with her I.D. in hand. "Thanks!"

"I told you Kurt, I don't want a girlfriend. I'm not interested in dating anyone."

Brittany turned in the direction of Santana's voice.

"Why?" Kurt asked.

Santana let out a frustrated huff of air, "I keep telling you, I just got out of a relationship. I don't want another one, nor a girlfriend. The last time it was disaster and I'm not interested in doing that again."

Brittany gripped her I.D. and tried not to let the sinking feeling in her stomach grow. She felt like Santana had shut a door in her face. Which was silly, because she never expected to be Santana's girlfriend. Sure, there was a time she imagined herself to be, but that was a long time ago. Brittany walked out of the The Bean before either Santana or Kurt saw her.

Santana heard the chime of the door and looked up but there was no one there. She did think she saw a flash of blond hair but couldn't be sure.

###

After class, Brittany was still replaying in her mind what Santana had said. It made sense. She did just break up with Kate so Santana not wanting a girlfriend shouldn't have been a surprise. But still, hearing her say that had burst another of Brittany's "maybe" bubbles she had thought up in her mind.

Brittany looked at the time on the big clock tower on campus. If she hurried she could catch Mercedes just as she was leaving her art class. Mercedes had been just as busy as Brittany these past few weeks and they hadn't hung out much.

Brittany arrived at the art building and waited for the class to end. After about five minutes, students started to leave. When Brittany saw the teacher leave she went in the room and found Mercedes washing paint brushes.

"Oh, that's a cool painting," Brittany said. Mercedes had been working on a painting of the Santa Monica Pier for weeks and looking at it now, Brittany assumed it was done.

"Thanks!" Mercedes said. She turned off the faucet and put the paint brushes on a paper towel to dry. "This is a nice surprise. What brings you for a visit? Girl trouble?"

"What?" Brittany said trying to laugh off Mercedes' question, "Can't I just come visit my bestie?"

"You can," Mercedes said with a smile, "But I see you got that pout thing going on, so something's up. Is it Quinn?"

Brittany sighed. Mercedes could always read her like a book and Brittany knew that was one of the reasons why she loved being friends with Mercedes. Brittany didn't have to explain anything, Mercedes just knew.

"Quinn told me she likes me," Brittany said softly.

"What? That's great!" Mercedes was thrilled. "She's fantastic Brittany! I mean, I've only hung out with her a few times, but she's really cool. You have so much in common too." Mercedes stopped talking when she saw Brittany wasn't as happy, "Wait, do you not like her?"

"I do!" Brittany said, "But…"

The smile Mercedes had disappeared and one of almost horror crossed her face, "Oh no! Don't! Don't you tell me you still got a thing for Santana. Don't you say it!"

Brittany shrugged her shoulders, "OK. I won't."

Mercedes threw her arms up in frustration. "I thought you were over that?"

"I am," Brittany said, "I mean, I don't have a thing for Cheerleader Santana. Just a thing for Regular Santana."

"Look, I like Santana," Mercedes said coming closer to Brittany, "I do. She's great too, but Britt, you're moving and Santana, well, she has a rep for breaking hearts and I don't want that to happen to you."

"It doesn't matter," Brittany said, "Gah! I just wish I would stop liking her."

Mercedes went over and brought Brittany in for a hug. "You will. Once you're in New York, she'll just be a girl you used to know in college."

Brittany tighter the hug. "I'm going to miss you so much."

"Me too," Mercedes said. The hugged for a few more seconds before Mercedes let go. "Ahem. OK, no more of this cause I'm gonna cry."

Brittany let out a soft chuckle then stopped when she got an idea. "Come with me!"

"What?"

"To New York!" Brittany said, now excited about the idea, "I still need a roommate. I mean I was going to ask Quinn but now it just seems weird to live with her if we like each other."

"I don't know Britt," Mercedes said, "What would I do there?"

"Music stuff!" Brittany said, "I know you're bummed that music label didn't pick you for that job and you're still waiting on that other label."

"Yeah," Mercedes said, shaking her head, "I don't have a good feeling about that one."

"See. That's perfect. Come to New York with me. I'm sure you'll find a bunch of music jobs there."

Brittany was pretty good at reading Mercedes too and the look on her face told Brittany that her best friend loved the idea.

"I'll think about it," Mercedes said.

"I'll look for an apartment!" Brittany said heading to the door, "But not Manhattan cause they charge like a million dollars to live in a closet!"

"I said I'll thi…."

Brittany didn't hear the rest of Mercedes' sentence. She was already out the door.

###

Santana took one last look in the mirror and smiled. She looked hot. She could make a simple black dress look glamorous. She wanted to look good. She had been kidding herself that she wanted to look hot for the girls, but maybe she was only trying to look good for one girl in particular.

She had no reason to be nervous, but she kind of was. Santana couldn't stop the butterflies from forming in her stomach.

"OK, breath Santana," She told herself. Once she thought she was calm enough she headed out of the house and to The Red Barron.

Santana arrived exactly at 10, even though she knew there was a good chance everyone would be late.

The place was packed. For the most part, The Red Barron was a bar, but occasionally they'd have club nights where you had to be on a the list to get in. It was a marketing ploy and it worked. Tonight was a club night. Santana knew she wouldn't be able to find parking so she just gave her car keys to the valet and headed to the front door.

It was chaos. The dance music could be heard pounding from inside, drunk people were tripping out of the place and everything looked like Santana's worst nightmare. A hoard of people cluttered on the front steps trying to get the attention of the woman with a clipboard.

"Fuck," Santana said. She tried to navigate through the sea of people and somehow managed to get to the front.

"Excuse me!" Santana shouted, "Excuse me!"

"Well hello gorgeous," The clipboard lady greeted,"And who might you be?"

"I'm Santana Lopez."

"Hello Santana," The lady said looking at the clipboard, "Let's see, ahh yes, here you are. Come on in. "

Santana stepped through The Red Barron doors and fought the urge to turn right back around and get the hell out of there. She hated clubs. Santana continued to walk in when she suddenly ran into Sugar and Puck.

"SANTANA!" Sugar yelled, already holding a drink.

"Hey!" Santana said, surprised to find them already there, "I thought I would be the first one here."

"Ha! You're actually the last one to get here," Sugar said taking a drink.

"Yeah," Puck chimed in, "Kurt is walking around checking out guys, Rachel and Sam are dancing, Mercedes and Mike are also dancing. Tina, I think went to talk to the DJ."

Santana was actually very glad to know everyone was already here because at least she didn't totally feel out of place. But she wanted to find Brittany. That was her number one priority.

"Have you guys seen Brittany?" Santana yelled.

"WHAT?" Sugar asked yelling, a loud dance song had just started and the bass was overwhelming.

"BRITTANY!" Santana yelled, "HAVE YOU SEEN BRITTANY?"

"OH! SHE'S OVER..." The song had changed and the volume seemed to return to normal, "What the fuck was that? I bet Tina's distracting the DJ."

"Sugar," Santana said trying to get Sugar back on track," Brittany? Where is she?"

"Brittany's over there," Puck answered, pointing to the far end of the bar, "Wait, she's gone...Oh, nope there she is talking to that redheaded guy over there."

Santana followed Puck's finger and saw the back of Brittany. She was wearing a short gold dress that showed off the beautiful legs Santana couldn't seem to look away from.

"I wonder if he's picking her up," Sugar said, taking another sip of her drink, "Anyway, I am surprised Brittany's lady friend Quinn isn't here. They'd be so cute dancing."

"Hot," Puck smirked.

"Excuse me," Santana said leaving Sugar and Puck and walking towards Brittany.

As she got closer she noticed that the redhead's body language screamed out 'I'm flirting' and all that attention was directed at Brittany. Santana rolled her eyes. She found spot right behind Brittany but didn't make her presence known.

"...I really loved that movie," The redhead was telling Brittany. His voice low and definitely flirtatious.

Brittany had come to the bar to get another drink when this guy had just started hitting on her. He was cute and for a few moments Brittany was actually considering him to be her rebound just like Mercedes had said. But then there was Quinn, but they weren't together so that wasn't cheating. Everything was so confusing. Besides, the more this guy talked, the less she liked him.

"It's awesome," Brittany agreed.

"Maybe you can come over to my place and we can watch the Blu-Ray?," The redhead asked, getting closer.

This guy has no game, Santana thought. He didn't seem like he was going to give up easily but Santana remained where she was, behind Brittany, facing the bar.

"Oh," Brittany said clearly uncertain as to how to reply, "Um that sounds..."

"And after, well, there's a great Mexican restaurant just down the street. Maybe we could grab a bite and get to know each other better."

Santana saw the guy smile, a smile that showed Santana what he was really after. That's it, Santana thought.

"Oh I love that place," Santana said making her presence known to both Brittany and the guy. Santana wrapped her right arm across Brittany's shoulders.

"Santana!" Brittany once again was startled by Santana's sudden appearance, "You're here." She tried not to let the fact that Santana had her arm draped over her shoulders freak her out too much.

"Santana?" The redhead buy asked.

"Sorry, do I know you?" Santana asked.

"Not really. Maybe? I'm Devin Lark. I work for the school paper, I interviewed you a few times."

"Ah, sorry. I'm really bad with faces," Santana said, not hiding the indifference in her voice, "Are you bothering my friend here?"

"Oh, uh, I was just telling her it would be great if she, uh, came and saw a movie," Devin said, a little uncomfortable.

"I think I'll pass," Brittany said gently, "But thanks."

"Sure," Devin said, "OK, well. I'll leave you two to have some fun. And, uh, have fun."

With that, the guy disappeared into the dancing crowd.

Brittany turned around, wiggled her way out of Santana's embrace and faced her. Brittany let her eyes rake up and down Santana's body. She looked amazing, like she just stepped out off the runway. "What was that?" Brittany asked with an amused look.

"What?" Santana asked, taking notice that Brittany had most likely checked her out. She smirked. "He looked creepy. I was just helping you out. Was I wrong?"

Brittany couldn't help but smile, "No. No you weren't." She took a sip of her drink, "You look amazing."

Santana was sure her cheeks were on fire. "Umm, thanks. So do you."

Brittany smiled and took another sip of her drink to cool herself off.

"What are you drinking?" Santana asked.

"Long Island Ice Tea," Brittany said, "Gotta practice for that hot New York summer."

Santana let out a small laugh. She was sure only Brittany would do something like that. "What time did you get here?"

"Around 9:30. We all did actually. Except you. You're late."

"Who goes to a club at 9:30?" Santana asked, "That's unheard of in club time. I thought I'd be the first one here."

"I guess we all just wanted to the party started," Brittany said with a giggle. She looked down at her drink and saw that it was almost empty. She felt pretty buzzed already. "Can I buy you a drink? Sugar made some deal with the owner we get drinks for half off! She's going to do a whole segment on her show about the place." Brittany asked turning to the bar and getting the bartender's attention.

"Awesome! Yeah, I'll have a..."

"Red Manhattan!" Brittany almost shouted. "That's a New York drink!"

"Umm, fine," Santana said with a smile. She'd never had one and wasn't even sure what was in it, but she couldn't say no to Brittany who seemed excited about ordering a New York drink. She watched Brittany lean over the bar to get the bartender's attention. Brittany's dress was already pretty short, so when she leaned over, it got even shorter. Santana didn't even attempt to hide the fact she was, well, ogling Brittany and trying desperately not to reach out and touch her thigh.

"You shouldn't stare. It's rude," Brittany said leaning back and facing Santana. A smile graced her face. Through her peripheral vision, it looked like Santana was checking her out. But she couldn't be sure. For all Brittany knew Santana was looking at the people behind her.

"What? No, I wasn't…" Santana stammered, "I…"

Brittany burst out laughing, "I'm kidding. You're funny." She finished off her drink just as the bartender handed her another one and Santana's drink. "Here," she said handing Santana her drink, "I'm not sure what exactly a Red Manhattan is, but I saw a movie once where the bad guy ordered one."

"You ordered me a bad guy drink?" Santana joked, "You think I'm a bad guy?"

"No way! You're totally one of the good guys," Brittany said, "I just don't know any other New York drinks."

"I'm kidding, Britt," Santana said and brought her drink up to toast, "To our new jobs!"

"To our new jobs!" Brittany repeated. After the toast Brittany dared to check out Santana again. She really was just so beautiful. She was going to miss seeing her in person.

"Umm," Santana began to say, but with Brittany looking at her the way she was she seemed to temporarily lose her ability to speak. "This is really good."

"Your arms are like super muscular," Brittany randomly said. It was as if her mind and mouth weren't working together. Yeah, she was definitely more than buzzed now. She always seem to say the most random things when she was drunk. "All that cheerleading."

Santana felt the room get really warm all of a sudden and she stepped back. "Thanks. And, yeah, cheerleading was my workout."

"Oh! Harlem Nights!" Brittany said suddenly, "Harlem is in New York right? That's another drink!"

Santana tried to keep her laughter under control. This girl was just beyond cute and funny, "Yes, it is."

"Wahoo!" Brittany shouted.

"I think someone is drunk already?"

"You?" Brittany asked, seriously, "You just took like two sips, how are you drunk? Such a lightweight!"

"No, you nerd," Santana said, "You! You're drunk already."

"Me? No way," Brittany said, "I'm just a lil buzz…ed."

Santana just shook her head and took another drink. "Did you get started on rewriting your paper?"

"Nope," Brittany said shaking her head furiously, "No school work talk. It's Bar Night."

"Right, sorry," Santana said.

"And I'm buying your drinks tonight," Brittany said, "I totally left lunch without paying for my food. You must think I'm a total jerk for leaving you to pay."

"No, Brittany, it's fine," Santana said, "I was going to pay anyway."

"It was still rude," Brittany said, "Sorry."

"Don't be," Santana said. She had just gotten the bar and she was already having a great time and it was all because of this girl. Maybe it was all in Santana's head but she felt as if their interactions had a more familiar feel ever since the day Brittany admitted to having a crush on her. No, she thought, had a crush. Not anymore.

"Woot! Hey Britt," Sugar said as she and Puck joined them, "Saw you talking to that hot redhead. What happened?"

"Sugar," Puck chimed in, "Don't be nosey."

"Hi, have we met?" Sugar said sarcastically, "I'm Sugar and I'm nosey."

"Nothing," Brittany began, "Nothing happened. We were just talking. Besides, I'm not interested."

This caused Santana to smile.

"Is it because of Quinn?" Sugar asked, "I knew you guys were a thing. Congrats!"

Santana's smile disappeared.

"It's not Quinn," Brittany said, "Not, well sort of, but not really."

"What the hell does that mean?" Sugar asked.

Brittany wasn't sure what it meant either. She took another sip of her drink. She spotted Rachel and Sam heading towards them.

"Hey guys," Rachel said, a bit out of breath from dancing, "It's chaos out there on the dance floor."

"Yeah," Sam joined in, "I think I elbowed a few people."

"You guys look like you're having a good time," Brittany said.

"Yeah, it's great. But I need a drink," Rachel said.

"Me too," Sam agreed.

"Well, apparently we can order all we want for half off," Santana said, "Thanks to Sugar."

"You are welcome," Sugar said.

"I heard," Rachel said, "Well, I am not much of a drinker but these are my final days as a college girl. I'm going to let lose." Rachel and Sam stepped a little past the group to the bar and ordered their drinks.

"Go crazy, little one." Santana teased.

Santana spotted Kurt coming over to them. When Kurt spotted Brittany, he busted out into a big smile.

Way to be subtle Kurt, Santana thought.

"Hey, hey," Kurt said, "How you guys liking club night?"

"It's alright," Puck answered.

"I love it," Kurt said, "There are quite a few hot guys here. And gay!"

"Oh man," Tina said as she suddenly joined the group, "Wow, it's crazy in here."

"Hey Tina, " Santana greeted, "You done bothering the DJ?" Everyone seemed to be popping up out of nowhere.

Tina just smiled.

Brittany looked around and noticed that Mercedes and Mike were missing. She didn't want them to feel left out of the group. She scanned the dance floor and spotted them. She managed to get Mercedes' attention and waved them over.

"Hey, hey!" Mercedes said joining the group, Mike following. "Are we allowed in this secret meeting?"

"Of course!" Brittany said as she gave her best friend a hug, then went to hug Mike.

"Thanks for the invite," Mike said.

"You met everyone already, right?" Brittany asked

"I did, Britt," Mike said.

Santana looked around her group of friends and felt a sense of joy. She'd never admit it, but she cherished all her friends more than they could possibly know. And even thought they'd probably all go their separate way soon, she knew she'd do her best to keep in touch with them. Even Rachel.

Brittany looked around the club trying to see if they could all maybe get a table. Instead her eyes found something else. Or more accurately, someone else. "Uh oh!" Brittany said.

"What's wrong?" Santana asked concerned.

"Umm, Kate is here," Brittany said slowly.

Santana turned around in the direction Brittany was looking at and sure enough, it was Kate. "Shit! I don't need that right now."

"Let's go dance!" Brittany said and grabbed Santana's arm.

Before Santana could react, Brittany was pulling her into the dance floor. Both still holding their drinks.

-**tbc**-

* * *

**A/N: You all are unpredictable. I was expecting Kate to get more hate for her threat. ;-) Thanks for sticking with this! **


	13. VIP

Santana tried desperately to hold on to her drink. The dance floor was packed and she was sure she had already spilled some of the liquid on a someone.

Brittany wasn't thinking. When she saw that Santana didn't want to run into Kate she just grabbed her and took her to dance. Had she been more sober, she wouldn't have done something so bold. Once they were enveloped by the crowd, Brittany turned to Santana and wrapped her arms around her neck. "You're welcome!"

"What?" Santana asked. She still felt like she was five seconds behind in reacting to things. She felt Brittany's arms around her and suddenly didn't know what to do with her own hands.

Brittany leaned closer and put her mouth near Santana's left ear, "I said, you're welcome!" She breathed in and there was that perfume smell again. "You good smell…..no! Ha! I mean you smell good. What perfume is that?"

Santana swallowed and let out a breath. Maybe she was a little buzzed already. It was the only explanation she could think of to explain the weird almost dizzying feeling she was experiencing right now. "For what?"

"Saving you from Kate, silly," Brittany said. "You know, you can put your arms around me. I'm not a great prancer…dancer, but I know you're supposed to put your arms around me too."

Santana brought her drink between her and Brittany and took a long sip finishing it and hoping that would calm the slight flush she felt. "Right." She said and wrapped her arms around Brittany's waist. She really wished she wasn't holding this drink.

Brittany smiled. She couldn't believe she was dancing with Santana. She tried to remember if this was one of her fantasies but couldn't. Probably not. Brittany wasn't much of a dancer, she could hold her own, but she would rarely hit the dance floor.

They began to move against each other, a little awkwardly at first but they found their rhythm soon, their swaying hips moved in unison.

"You didn't answer," Brittany said, breathing in again, "What perfume do you use?"

Santana closed her eyes and felt a shiver when Brittany's hot breath hit her skin, "It's…umm, I don't. It's not perfume…it's just the body wash I use."

"Really?" Brittany asked surprised. She moved her head so she could almost bury her face in Santana's neck, "So good."

"Oh my God," Santana whispered. She needed to get away from Brittany, now. If she didn't, she was sure she was going to kiss her. "Umm, Britt. I need another drink."

Brittany pouted and leaned back to look at Santana. She felt like she was watching a movie or something. Like, none of this was really happening. Was she really dancing with Santana? Did she just sniff her neck like some puppy? She was glad she wasn't sober or else she was sure she'd run out of the club in embarrassment. "Umm, sorry." She removed her arms from Santana's shoulders and offered Santana her own drink, "You want some of mine? It's really good."

Santana was about to decline, but the seeing the slight pout on Brittany's lips made her bring her lips to the skinny straw and take a long sip. It was good. But the smile Brittany gave her was better. "Thanks."

Brittany watched Santana take a sip and she no longer cared if this was a movie or not. She really liked whatever was happening. She ran her free hand down Santana's arm and found her hand and interlocked their fingers. "Come on. Let's go to the bar."

Santana was feeling incredibly hot, there didn't seem to be enough oxygen in the room. She let Brittany lead her though the crowed and as she looked around she caught Kate looking at them with an expression Santana couldn't really figure out. She quickly looked away and focused on Brittany.

It was a little difficult but Brittany managed to get them to the bar, on the opposite side of where some of their friends still were. She wanted to hang out with Santana alone for a while.

"Damn!" Brittany said letting go of Santana's hand and leaning against the bar, "It's insane in that crowd!"

"Yeah, it is," Santana said, glad to put her empty glass on the bar. She was also glad that the music wasn't as loud at the bar so she wouldn't have to keep yelling.

Brittany smiled at Santana and loved that she looked flushed and even a little nervous. She wasn't sure why Santana would even be nervous though. "Do you want another Red Manhattan or something else?"

"Red Manhattan," Santana said, "It's actually really good. Might be my new favorite drink."

"Awesome!" Brittany said. She took one final sip of her drink to finish it off and placed it on the counter. "I have to pee! I'll be back to order your drink, OK?"

"Do you want me to go with you?" Santana asked. She didn't like the idea of Brittany heading off into the crowd while she was drunk.

"I'm good," Brittany said, "Plus I don't want to lose this spot at the bar. It's prime location!"

Santana laughed, feeling more relaxed now that she had some distance from Brittany. It wasn't that she didn't like being close to her, it was that she liked it too much.

"I'll be back," Brittany said in her best Terminator impression.

"That was awful," Santana said unable to control her laughing. Brittany just smiled and took off for the bathroom.

Santana was still laughing when one of the bartender came up to her. She recognized her from school.

"Hey Santana!" The bartender said, "Nice to see you."

"Oh hey, Mila," Santana said, hoping she got the name right and judging by the girls big smile, she had.

"How are you?" Mila asked.

"Great!" Santana said and actually meant it, "Just hanging out with some friends."

"Brittany?"

Santana didn't try to hide her surprise. "You know Brittany?"

"Not personally," Mila said, "But lots of people know who she is since she started hanging out with you. She's popular by proxy."

Santana forced as mile. She wasn't sure how to feel about this information. Did Brittany want to be popular? If she didn't, then Santana would feel like a jerk for dragging her into her world. But if popularity was what Brittany wanted, then Santana wasn't sure she liked that either.

"Umm," Santana said, "Can I get a drink?"

"Sure," Mila said with a wink.

"Red Manhattan and a Long Island Ice tea," Santana said.

Mila excused herself and went to make the drinks.

As Santana waited, Santana attracted the attention of a tall brunette.

"Hi." The stranger said, "It's a crime that you're here all alone. Can I buy you a drink?"

"No thanks," Santana said, "I just ordered."

"A little too late, I guess. I'm Sarah," she said extending her hand.

Santana was not in the mood to deal with being hit on, but she didn't want to be rude, so she also extended her hand.

"Santana."

"Santana Lopez," Sarah said, "I know you. Are you here by yourself? Because I would be glad to keep you company."

Oh brother, Santana thought.

"No," Santana said, "I'm here with some friends who are dancing. And I'm just waiting for my...uh, girlfriend to come back." Maybe that little lie would scar her off.

"I thought you and Kate broke up?" Sarah asked.

Shit, Santana thought, this why she hated being popular. Everyone knew your business. Santana just smiled.

"Hmmm. Is there really a girlfriend? Or is that just your way of scaring me off?"

"Sort of," Santana said, "But, I'm definitely not available. Sorry."

"Well," Sarah said taking the hint, "I'll be around just in case your, uh, _girlfriend_ doesn't come back."

"I'll keep that in mind," Santana said as Sarah walked away.

Santana was glad when Mila retuned with the drinks. She told the bartender to put it on Brittany's tab. Santana looked in the direction of where the bathroom was and couldn't see Brittany.

"Where are you?" Santana whispered.

A short haired blond suddenly appeared in from to of her. "Hi. I'm Ashley. Wanna dance?"

"Sorry," Santana said and turned to look at the dance floor. The dance floor seemed to be even more crowded, but she did manage to spot Rachel, Sam, Puck, Sugar and even Kurt all having a good time dancing.

She felt a tap on her shoulder and rolled her eyes. "I said don't want to dance!" She said as she turned around.

"I wasn't asking," Brittany said, "It's way too crowded."

"Oh shit, sorry," Santana said, "I thought you were someone else."

"That other girl who was hitting on you?" Brittany asked.

"Umm, yeah," Santana said hating to admit it. She picked up Brittany's drink and gave it to her.

"Thanks!" Brittany said taking a sip, "Sorry I took so long. I got distracted. I found a secret room!"

"You did?"

After Brittany had finished in the bathroom she took a wrong turn and ended up somewhere near the back of the club. She stumbled upon an empty room that looked like some sort of V.I.P room. Brittany grabbed Santana's hand and lead her way from the bar.

Santana had just enough time to grab her drink before Brittany pulled her away. "Where are we going?"

Brittany turned to look back and just smiled. She wanted to be alone with Santana. She wanted to talk to her and just be with her. There was that feeling in her chest that time was running out. She could practically hear the clock ticking in her mind. Or maybe it was dance song they were playing.

Santana saw the crowd of people disappear the further back int the club they got. Once they got to the far wall, Brittany turned right and through a narrow hallway. Once they were through it, Santana saw a medium size room with it's own personal bar and about 15 tables.

"Holy shit!" Santana said, stepping further inside, "I never knew this was here!"

"Me neither!" Brittany said, "Isn't it awesome? It's like I discovered a hidden treasure."

"You really did," Santana said, going to sit in one of the bar stools. The music from the main club now muffled.

"Now we can hang out," Brittany said sitting down next to Santana, "Sorry, I took so long."

"I'm just glad you came back," Santana said, a smile on her face, "I couldn't take the crowed anymore. And the endless women hitting on me."

"Is that right?" Brittany said amused, "Endless?"

"Endless," Santana exaggerated.

"I'm glad you came," Brittany said sincerely.

"Me too."

Brittany took a drink, "I only came cause I wanted to hang out with you."

"Me too," Santana said softly.

Brittany gave Santana a mischievous smile and Santana wasn't sure what to make of it. "Are you sure you should keep drinking? Maybe you should slow down."

"I'm fine," Brittany said. She hoped she was, but she didn't want to stop drinking because it made her more bold and less nervous around Santana.

"I'd ask you to dance, but you can't even hear the music anymore," Santana said as she swiveled her seat around and faced Brittany.

Brittany leaned her elbow on the bar and rested her head on her hand and just watched Santana. She didn't care if she was staring. "You're so pretty."

"And you're drunk," Santana said with a light laugh.

"Even if I wasn't drunk I'd still think you're pretty." Brittany said.

Santana hated that Brittany made her feel like all her blood was rushing to her face. No one had ever made her blush so much. "We'll, you're just as pretty. More so."

"No way!" Brittany protested, "I'm just a film geek that wears baby animal ties."

"A pretty film geek," Santana said looking into Brittany's eyes. Brittany really did have the bluest eyes she had ever seen on anyone. They were so calming and sincere and Santana could just stare at them all day. She cleared her throat, "So umm, are you excited for graduation?"

"Yup," Brittany said, still staring. She didn't want to look away, she wanted to memorize every little detail of Santana's face. This for sure felt like she was watching a movie.

"So, do you have any brother's or sister?" Santana asked. She wasn't sure what to talk about. Every time she had been alone with Brittany they had almost always talked about school or her paper and never anything personal. She wanted to know more.

"A younger sister," Brittany said, "Did you give that girl your number?" There it was again. Her mind and mouth not on the same page but thanks to her ice tea, she didn't care.

"What? No, of course not!" Santana said. She wasn't sure why she felt the need to make that clear to Brittany.

"I'm sorry about your break up with Kate," Brittany said sitting up, "I apologize. No wait, my condolences."

"Don't be sorry," Santana said, "I'm not."

Brittany leaned in a little and whispered, "OK good. Because I'm not really sorry."

Santana let out a chuckle. "How are you? With breaking up with Jesse."

"Great!" Brittany almost shouted, "We're still friends. I had lunch with him last week. He's really cool. We sort of stopped dating months ago but didn't even realize it. We just had sex."

Santana grimaced, "Yeah, I don't really want to hear about that."

"Sorry," Brittany said with a giggle. "So, have you had your rebound yet?"

"Excuse me?"

"Your re'ound," Brittany said trying to keep her words clear, "Mercedes said I should hook up with someone as a rebound 'fore I start dating again."

"She did?" Santana asked. Santana never really had to deal with the whole rebound thing. Even when she ended it with Kate, she felt there was nothing for her to rebound from. But the idea of Brittany randomly hooking up with some guy or girl just for that purpose didn't sit well with Santana.

"So have you?" Brittany asked. She wasn't sure if she wanted an answer because she was sure Santana had girls lined up for days. The thought of that made Brittany's stomach start to hurt a little.

"No," Santana admitted, "Have you?"

"No," Brittany said, "But I think I should."

Brittany had been thinking a lot about that lately. Maybe if she just hooked up with a guy or girl she didn't really know, she'd get over her feelings for Santana and maybe help her slow down with Quinn. The whole Quinn thing was the most messed up one of all. Brittany liked her, but was starting to feel like things were moving way too fast. Things could go slow with Quinn, there was no rush. Maybe Santana had the right idea about just staying single for a while.

"What?" Santana asked, surprised, "Why?"

Brittany shrugged her shoulders, "I need to slow down with Quinn." She took a sip of her drink. "I almost feel like we're moving in together but we're not. I'm hoping Mercedes says yes…"

Santana was confused, "Britt wait. What? I thought you said Quinn was your friend."

"She is!" Brittany said. She rubbed her eyes, the alcohol was making her sleepy, "But she wants to…to be more. Like my girlfriend."

"What?" Santana was actually shocked.

"She likes me," Brittany said. "Crazy right? Like, what would someone as awesome as Quinn see in me? I don't get it."

Santana felt a slight panic start to rise up inside her. She knew she had been right about Quinn and her being after Brittany. She was just deluding her self into thinking she had read Quinn wrong. "I get it." She said softly.

"Well, I don't," Brittany said letting out a breath.

"Do you, umm, do you like her?" Santana asked.

"Sure!" Brittany said, "She's awesome. But, I also like…umm, it's contemplative….complicated."

Santana brought her drink to her lips and finished it all in one gulp. Hearing that Brittany liked Quinn hit her harder than she thought. Santana hated to admit it but Quinn was very attractive and probably had a lot in common with Brittany. More than I have in common with her, she thought. She was sure if they all filled out some match making form and fed it into a computer, the system would pair up Brittany and Quinn.

Brittany watched Santana finish her drink then set it down on the bar. She looked sad. Why would she look sad, Brittany wondered. Brittany got up from her stool and stepped closer to Santana. Without saying anything, Brittany hugged her, tight.

"You are sad about Kate," Brittany said.

Santana wrapped her arms around Brittany and returned the hug. She let out a small chuckle, "I'm not sad about Kate. Believe me. I'm not sad at all. I'm actually really happy about that."

Brittany leaned back to look into Santana's eyes to see if she meant what she said. And she did. "Good, cause she sucks."

Santana smiled and looked into Brittany's eyes. God they're so blue, she thought. They were just as close as they were on the dance floor but this time, Santana wasn't feeling like she had to get away from her.

For the second time tonight, Brittany had her arms around Santana's shoulders and Santana had her hand on Brittany's waist. Brittany still couldn't believe it had happened once, but here it was happening again. She looked down at Santana's lips and remembered her kissing fantasies. There had been many where she would just randomly find herself kissing Santana. She wondered if she could just do that now and just blame it on the alcohol later. This could be her only chance.

"Brittany," Santana whispered. She noticed Brittany looking at her lips and her heart started beating incredibly fast.

"Mmmm?"

"Maybe we should get back and join everyone," Santana said trying to control her voice.

Brittany looked up at Santana, "OK."

"OK" Santana repeated but neither made any attempt to move.

Brittany leaned in gave Santana a kiss on the cheek. Then she move to kiss her temple.

Santana involuntarily gripped Brittany's hips tighter and closed her eyes, "Wha…what are you doing?"

"Last chance," Brittany said softly and moved to kiss Santana's other cheek. Santana's skin was so warm and soft and Brittany wanted to kiss every inch of it.

Santana felt relaxed and excited at the same time. She felt hot but couldn't stop the goosebumps that suddenly covered her skin. She felt dizzy but stable. Her desire to kiss Brittany was growing and she wasn't sure how much more she could control it. It was just too much. She lifted one of her hands and reached up to cup the side of Brittany's face holding it in place.

"Britt," Santana said, her voice uneven, "You're drunk. We…we should get back."

"Santana," Brittany said closing her eyes.

"Come on," Santana said releasing Brittany and jumping off the bar stool.

Santana turned her back to Brittany, but she had not taken a full step before she felt Brittany grab her arm and turned her around. In a second, Santana felt Brittany's hand behind her head and she pulled her in for a kiss. Their lips crashed together, temporarily disorienting Santana.

Brittany felt like she was watching herself do these things and like it was all out of her control. She just wanted one kiss, just one so that she wouldn't have that feeling of never knowing what kissing Santana was like. It was amazing. Her lips were so soft and sweet and she didn't want to stop kissing them. Kissing Santana was a thousand times better than any made up fantasy Brittany had created in her mind.

Santana gave in. She raised her hands and cupped Brittany's face deepening the kiss. She felt Brittany's tongue trying to enter her mouth. She let her. She felt Brittany's hands running through her hair, she felt Brittany's body inching closer to hers. She felt Brittany's lips explore hers. Santana savored the kiss, Brittany's lips, and just couldn't get enough. She marveled at how kiss this one girl felt so different than kissing all those girls she had kissed in the past.

Brittany broke the kiss to catch her breath. She rested her forehead on Santana's. "Sorry…," Brittany said breathless, "Just…last chance."

Santana's breathing was just as haggard. Without thinking, she leaned in and gave Brittany a small kiss on the lips. "You keep saying that. Why?"

"Before I leave," Brittany said. She felt really dizzy but wasn't sure if it was because of alcohol or kissing Santana.

Brittany wasn't making any sense and Santana just chalked it up to her drinking too much. "Come on, sit down." She helped Brittany up on the stool. When she was sure Brittany wouldn't tip over, Santana ran her hand through Brittany's hair, taming some wild stands.

"Sorry," Brittany said again.

"Are you sorry you kissed me?" Santana asked.

Brittany smiled and shook her head.

"Good," Santana said relieved.

Brittany took in a deep breath, hopping that would help her clear her head. "I think I need some water."

Santana looked behind the fully stocked bar and noticed a soda fountain machine which was sure to have water. She left Brittany's side to go behind the bar and gave Brittany a glass of water.

"Thanks," Brittany said taking a long gulp.

"You OK?"

"Yeah," Brittany said. She looked at Santana behind the bar and saw the concerned look, "I'm fine. Are you?"

"Never better," Santana said with a big smile.

Brittany was thankful Santana wasn't mad. Part of her hoped she wouldn't remember this in the morning, but she also wanted to remember every detail. She wanted to kiss Santana again. Kiss her as much as she could before she left. She would blame the next words out of her mouth on the three Long Island ice teas.

"Maybe we should be each other's rebound."

"What?"

Brittany reached for her ice tea again, it was her liquid courage. "Well, like, we both just broke up with people and haven't had a rebound…and, I don't really want to hook up with someone I just met…it could just be kissing and making out, if you want. And it would only be temporary. Just tonight."

Santana gripped the edge of the bar, her mouth open in shock. "You…you want us to hook up?"

Brittany squeezed eyes shut then opened them. Maybe this was a bad idea. "I'm…I think I'm drunk."

"Obviously," Santana said.

"Forget it," Brittany said jumping off of the stool, "I'm going to…go find Mercedes and go home."

Santana quickly came from behind the bar and stopped Brittany just as she was heading to the exit. "Wait hold on."

"Let's just forget it and go back," Brittany said. No alcohol in the world could stop the flush of mortification she was feeling right now.

"Britt stop," Santana said, "Why me?"

Brittany shrugged her shoulders, "I like you. We're friends. New friends so we could still do this before we got to be old friends, then it's be weird. Does that make sense?"

"Umm, not really," Santana said.

"It makes sense in my head," Brittany said. She looked at Santana and just wanted to kiss her again. She got closer. "Once I leave for New York we can like, hit the rewind button. Or reset button and just be friends again. Regular friends. It'll be easy cause we'll be on opposite sides of the country." She felt like she was starting to sound desperate and maybe she was. Instead of the kiss satisfying her desire to kiss Santana it had done the opposite. She wanted more and this was the only thing she could thing of to make that happen.

Santana was stunned. She knew Brittany wasn't thinking straight with three, very strong, drinks in her, but part of her didn't care. Part of her wanted to say yes. Yes to kissing her again. Yes to making out with her. Yes to…whatever Brittany wanted. But another part of her felt like she'd be taking advantage. Santana felt a buzz, but she wasn't drunk. She was clear headed. "Maybe we should talk about this when you're more sober."

Brittany nodded but knew that there was a giant chance Santana would say no or that once she was sober, she'd be too embarrassed to even speak to Santana again.

"Let's go back," Santana said with a smile.

"OK," Brittany said, "But I just…" She didn't finish her sentence. She leaned forward and kissed Santana again. Just one more time, she thought.

Santana closed her eyes and quickly surrendered to Brittany's kiss. As soon as their lips touched she knew she was a goner.

Their tongues danced together, tasting and teasing. The kiss was slow and tender. Brittany's hands ran all through Santana's hair, sending shivers down her spine. Santana's right hand held the back of Brittany's head while her left one tried to pull Brittany closer to her by her waist.

Brittany let out a moan and felt Santana's left hand slid down from her waist, down past the hem of her dress. She felt Santana fumble a little, but soon her hand made contact with her skin.

Santana whimpered, and Brittany took that as a sign to continue. While she continued to taste Santana's lips, Santana's hand continued to travel up her thigh, inching Brittany's dress up.

Santana felt like she couldn't help herself, so as she thrust her tongue deeper in Brittany's mouth, she squeezed Brittany's thigh.

Brittany's hands immediately let go of Santana's hair and she put them on Santana's shoulders, lightly pushing her away, but still kept her close. Santana opened her eyes and saw an intense desire in Brittany's eyes that made her want to kiss her again.

"Santana...," Brittany said, her breath catching in her throat,"Santana...that's, uh,…that's…good. That's a rebound."

Santana took a minute to respond, trying to slow her heartbeat that felt like it was reaching impossibly fast.

"So that's it?" Santana asked softly, "That's what you wanted?"

The kiss had sobered Brittany up a quite a bit and she was starting really process what had just happened. What have I done, she thought, I ruined our friendship.

"Let's, uh, let's step back a bit," Brittany said forcing herself to push herself away from Santana. Brittany pulled her dress down and took a minute to compose herself.

"OK," Santana agreed. She swallowed and moved to the bar where she picked up her drink but realized it was empty. "Fuck." She went behind the bar and took a bottle of vodka off the wall and poured it into her glass. She looked around for something to mix it with and found some cranberry juice. She'd just pay for this later.

"I guess now we're ready to date other people," Brittany said with a slight laugh. She meant it as a joke but the look on Santana's face told her that's not how it came out.

"Umm, sure," Santana said. She wasn't sure what she was feeling but she definitely wasn't thinking about anyone else right now. Just Brittany. She finished every drop of her drink faster than she should. She made herself another and drank it all. "We should head back." She realized she probably shouldn't have drank those drinks so fast, her buzzed had intensified.

"Whoa! Look at this room!" A drunk woman yelled and came staggering into the room followed by four equally drunk people.

"Let's dance in here," one of them said.

Santana came out behind the bar and went over to Brittany.

"Let's get out of here," she said.

She took Brittany's hand and lead her out of the private room into a crowded club. Santana took them to the bar and asked Mila to give them both waters.

"Also, we found that V.I.P room," Santana said, "And I made my self two vodka and cranberry drinks…so uh, add that to the account."

"Nah, on the house," Mila said.

"Thanks," Santana said, "Though you should send someone in there because a group found that room too and they too might help themselves."

"I'll get on that, "Mila said, "Is Brittany OK?"

Brittany heard her name but was too embarrassed to look up. When they got to the bar Brittany sat down and buried her face in here hands hoping that when she did look up, she'd be home or somewhere else. No such luck.

"She's fine," Santana said, "Just too many Long Islands."

"I'll get you guys some water," Mila said. She left and returned quickly with the order.

"Drink this," Santana told Brittany.

Brittany removed her face from her hands and took the glass of water. She didn't look at Santana. She just couldn't look at here right now. "What time is it?" She asked after taking a long drink.

"I don't know," Santana said. She watched Brittany as she took the glass and drank, her face red. Santana reached over and pushed a strand of Brittany's hair behind her ear. "Better?"

Brittany put the glass back on the counter and nodded.

"You should probably eat something too," Santana said. She felt this need to take care of Brittany. She had felt that need before but after what happened, it was stronger. Santana got Mila's attention again and ordered a basket of chicken wings. She remembered Brittany liked those.

Brittany still hadn't looked Santana in the eye. How could she when she had practically attacked her in that room. "I should…I should find Rachel or Mercedes. See if they can give me a ride home."

"No, you can't," Santana said quickly, "I, uh, I just ordered you some chicken wings. You should really eat something so you won't feel like total shit tomorrow morning."

Santana didn't want Brittany to leave. What she really wanted to do was talk about what had just happened but there was no way that was happening with Brittany's current state. She could wait until tomorrow, that was fine, but she just didn't want Brittany to leave just yet.

"I already feel like shit," Brittany said, finally daring to look up at Santana, "I'm so sorry about….about what happened. I'm just so drunk…"

"Hey stop," Santana said taking Brittany's hand, "Don't be sorry. Look, we'll talk about it later, OK?"

Looking at Santana, Brittany actually felt better. Santana wasn't mad and was being so sweet and understanding. "OK."

Santana squeezed Brittany's hand and gave her a smile, "And, it's not like you were kissing yourself."

Brittany let out a small laugh.

"One basket of chicken wings!" Mila said placing the food in front of Brittany, "Eat up Brittany. The water and food will do you good."

"Umm, thanks," Brittany said not sure how this woman knew her name.

Santana took a seat next to Brittany and grabbed one of the wings, "Come on, let's see how long it takes us to finish this. I'll race you."

Brittany smiled and began to eat. They didn't speak and just ate and drank water. By the time the basket was empty, Brittany was indeed feeling a lot better and more sober.

"There you are!"

Brittany looked up to see her best friend, walk up to her and wedge her way between her and Santana. "Hey."

"Are you OK?" Mercedes asked, concern all over her face, "You're all red…you drank too much?"

"Just a little," Brittany said. She was really glad to see Mercedes. Even though Santana wasn't mad, Brittany felt like she shouldn't be alone with her.

Mercedes turned to Santana, "Did she take off her clothes?"

Santana had been mid drink and spit out some of her water. She had seen that on TV, but didn't think it actually happened in real life. "Umm what?" Santana asked once she had recovered.

"Britt has this tendency to take off some of her clothes when she's drunk," Mercedes said.

Brittany smacked Mercedes in the arm. "Mercedes!" Just when she thought this night couldn't get any more embarrassing, her friend proved her wrong.

"What? You do!" Mercedes said in her defense.

"No," Santana said, "She didn't take off any clothes."

"She also gets kinda handsy," Mercedes said, now with a chuckle.

"Would you shut up!" Brittany said. Her friend was clearly enjoying embarrassing her.

"Umm, no," Santana said. Though I did, she thought. She really didn't know what got into her. Maybe it was because she hadn't had sex or been close to anyone in a while, or it could just be the simple fact she was really attracted to Brittany. The memory of running her hand up Brittany's thigh made her want to drink more water to cool off.

Mercedes turned to Brittany, "You want me to drive you home?"

"Yeah," Brittany said hating that she was making her friend leave early.

"No!" Santana suddenly said causing both women to stare, "I mean, I can drive you home, Brittany."

"Uh, girl," Mercedes said, "I don't think so. Judging by how glassy your eyes look, you should not be driving. Sam was actually looking for you. You should have him drive you home, he's had like oen drink all night."

Santana knew Mercedes was right. While she wasn't really drunk, not like Brittany, she was still pretty buzzed. "You're right."

Brittany let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She was actually glad Santana wasn't driving her home. She needed to get away from her to figure out what the hell happened and her mind was still really fuzzy to think straight. Mercedes helped her up and a wave of dizziness hit her, "Whoa!" she said.

"Come on, booze hound," Mercedes said.

"I'll see you tomorrow, right?" Santana asked Brittany.

Brittany wished her brain would stop feeling like it was on ferris wheel, "Tomorrow?"

"The dinner? Remember?" Santana asked.

"Oh, right," Brittany said slowly, "Umm, I'll call you."

Santana watched Mercedes lead Brittany throughout the crowed and ran a hand through her hair. She was so confused. She needed another drink. She ordered another Red Manhattan and set off to find Sam.

####

Brittany felt dizzy. She went to lie down, when she realized she was already laying down. She slowly opened her eyes and then realized she was in her room and it was already morning.

"Ugh," she moans.

She tries to remember how she got back to her place and in her bed. She looks down and she's wearing her pajamas. "What? How did I..."

Mercedes.

Brittany groaned again and thanked her lucky stars for having an overprotective best friend. She looked at her clock on her nightstand and saw it was almost 10. She debated just staying in all day since she had nothing planned.

"Oh shit!" She said, her voice sounding hoarse. She did have something planned. She was supposed to have dinner with Santana. "Oh shit!" She said again. The kiss.

Brittany sat up in bed quickly, the sudden motion making her head feel like it would split open. She fell back on the bed covered her face with her hands. Everything was a little fuzzy, but she remembered everything that had happened in that room. She felt mortified and reached over for her phone. He had to cancel. She typed out a short message telling Santana something had come up and all she had to do was hit "Send". She must have stared at that message for 15 minutes before she decided to delete it and go back to sleep. Maybe next time she woke up, everything would have been a dream.

###

Santana looked at the clock on her wall and saw it was 6:40. Brittany said she'd pick her up at 7. Santana had texted Brittany earlier asking if she had a hangover, but there had been no answer back. She hadn't heard from Brittany at all and she was kind of expecting to be stood up for dinner. But just in case Brittany did show up, Santana had gotten ready.

After Brittany left the club, Santana had had one last drink and then asked Sam to drive her home. She just hadn't been in a party mood anymore, not after Brittany left.

She hadn't stopped thinking about what happened. Brittany had kissed ehr. She had kissed Brittany and liked it. A lot. She wanted to talk to Brittany about it. What did it mean? Was it just a drunken thing? Before she could ask herself any more questions, there was a knock at the door. She took a breath an opened the door.

"Hey," Brittany said softly. She had been so close to canceling this dinner so many times but she didn't. It's not like she could just ignore Santana for the rest of the school year. She figured if she just pretended like nothing happened, maybe Santana wouldn't bring it up. "You ready?" She asked a bit more loudly.

"Uh, yeah," Santana said, "Let me, uh, get my purse."

"So I was thinking, how about we eat at Chico's? I'm kinda in the mood for Mexican." Brittany said, slowly gaining more confidence.

Santana got her purse and looked at Brittany. She was acting like nothing happened. Maybe Brittany was drunker than Santana thought and now Brittany didn't remember anything. The thought of Brittany not remembering their kiss made her feel sad for some reason. "Mexican sounds good."

"Awesome!" Brittany said with a big smile. Maybe she coud get through this dinner without further embarrassment. The hard thing was though, that she did remember everything. Remembered how she felt kissing Santana and remembered how Santana had kissed her back. She was drunk too, she told herself. As much as she wanted to kiss her again, that would never happen again.

Santana followed Brittany out the door. The car ride to the restaurant consisted of talk about Brittany's paper and, to Santana's annoyance, Quinn.

"...her mom owns a sushi restaurant and Quinn can actually make sushi from scratch!" Brittany said, "Isn't that awesome?"

Santana rolled her eyes. "Fascinating," She said not trying to hide her disinterest. Luckily she didn't have to hear about how awesome Quinn was much longer because they arrived at the restaurant.

Brittany parked the car and followed Santana to the restaurant. She wasn't even sure why she started talking about Quinn. But now that she had she couldn't help but wonder if she should tell Quinn she made out with Santana. Was that even something she needed to know? If Brittany had made out with Quinn instead, would she need to tell Santana? The groaned in frustration.

"What's wrong?" Santana said as they were lead to their table.

"Nothing," Brittany said.

They sat down and ordered. When the chips and salsa were placed on the table, Santana couldn't take it anymore.

"How's the hangover?"

"It...it wasn't that bad," Brittany said playing with the chip in her hand.

"Good thing Rachel took you home," Santana said, watching Brittany.

"Mercedes took me home," Brittany corrected.

"So you do remember last night," Santana said.

Brittany closed her eyes and let out a breath. So much for her plan. "Yeah," She said opening her eyes and looking at Santana.

"I knew you weren't drunk enough to suffer from alcohol amnesia," Santana said, "I've seen black out drunk and you were not it."

Brittany ran both hand through her hair, "I'm so sorry. I really am. I...Mercedes was right! I get super handsy when I drink...I'm just glad I didn't start stripping for you."

Santana had to stop herself from telling Brittany she would have loved to see that. "Should we talk about what happened?" She said instead.

"I was drunk."

"Yeah, we've established you were drunk," Santana said, "So was I but you still...kissed me."

"You kissed me back!" Brittany said in her defense.

"Well, yeah. I mean, when a hot girl kisses me, I'm going to kiss back," Santana said even though it was more than just Brittany being hot that made her kiss her back. But, she wanted to know why Brittany had kissed her first.

"I don't want to be your girlfriend," Brittany said really fast.

Santana blinked in surprise. "What?"

"I don't want to date you or be your girlfriend," Brittany clarified. Truth was though if Santana asked her right now, this very moment to be her girlfriend, she was sure to say yes. But she knew that's not what Santana wanted and Brittany didn't want to force Santana into anything more than friendship. She couldn't lose Santana as her friend.

"I, uh...OK." Santana was at a loss for words. Hearing Brittany sound like the last thing she wanted in this world was to be with her made her kind of mad and it actually hurt a little.

"I was dr..."

"Drunk," Santana finished and crossed her arms.

"I heard you tell Kurt the last thing you wanted was a relationship," Brittany said, "So don't worry OK? I'm not after you or going to stalk you or anything. Can we just forget it happened?"

"You heard? At The Bean?"

"I came back cause I forget my I.D. when I bought my ice tea and I heard you," Brittany went on, "Please don't think I want to be your girlfriend, OK? I don't want to mess up our friendship. I don't! Not because of some drunken weirdness."

Santana swallowed the lump in her throat. She had said that to Kurt. Twice. And she meant it, but if Brittany..."Good," Santana forced herself to say, "That's why I wanted to talk to you about it. Make sure there aren't any misconceptions."

Brittany nodded. This is what she wanted, for Santana to just forget what happened, but hearing Santana say those words didn't make her feel better at all.

When their food came they were glad for the distraction.

-**tbc**-

* * *

**A/N: Thanks everyone! For those following me on tumblr, I hope you're enjoying the micro previews of the upcoming chapter I'm posting. :-) **


	14. Special Friendship

For a while nothing was said and they just ate. Brittany was sure this was the most awkward dinner she had ever had. "I ruined it, didn't I?"

"Ruined what?" Santana asked poking her enchilada.

"Our friendship," Brittany said softly, "I ruined it by kissing you."

Santana put her fork down and looked at Brittany. She looked so sad and Santana was sure she saw tears welling up in her eyes. "No. No, you didn't."

"Yes, I did," Brittany said, "I was…."

"Please don't say you were drunk again," Santana groaned, "I just…I don't want to hear that excuse anymore."

"It's not an excuse," Brittany insisted, "I was drunk, but I knew what I was doing. I wanted to kiss you and I thought that I could just blame it on the alcohol and you wouldn't be mad."

All Santana could seem to concentrate on was that Brittany had said, she wanted to kiss her. "Why…why would I be mad?"

"Why?" Brittany asked confused, "Because I totally violated your personal space and stuff. And I'm sure you don't have your friends just randomly kiss you."

"No, I don't," Santana said with a small chuckle, "I'd probably punch them in the face."

"See!" Brittany said, "I didn't want you to punch me in the face!"

Santana's chuckle turned into a laugh, "I would never punch you in the face Britt. Especially for kissing me." She cleared her throat before asking the next question. "Why did you want to kiss me?"

Brittany took a deep breath and leaned back, "I guess, I just wanted to…I told you that I had a crush on you..."

Santana nodded.

"…I guess I wanted to see what it was like to kiss you." Brittany said and looked down at her taco plate.

Santana swallowed, "And?"

"It was nice."

"Nice?" Santana asked, somewhat disappointed, "Just…nice?"

"Yeah," Brittany said looking up, "It was nice."

"I would have thought you'd say amazing or phenomenal," Santana teased, "But nice? That's not great for my self esteem."

Brittany tried not to smile but couldn't stop herself. "Maybe more than nice."

"That's a little better," Santana said.

"So, we're OK?" Brittany asked.

"We're fine," Santana said with a smile.

"I don't want you to think I'm like those other girls at the club," Brittany said, "All those endless women you said were hitting on you."

"I may have exaggerated that a little."

"Oh, I know," Brittany said with a small laugh, "But I love being your friend, Santana. I never in a million years thought you'd even be talking to me. And I'm scared you'll stop being my friend."

"Hey," Santana said reaching across the table and grabbed Brittany's hand, "I'm not going anywhere. Yeah, that kiss threw a wrench in our friendship, but it wasn't a bad wrench."

"No?"

"No," Santana confirmed. She gave Brittany's hand a light squeeze and had to stop herself from interlocking their fingers. Her skin was just so soft.

Brittany felt like the world had been lifted from her shoulders. She wasn't losing Santana. "I promise I won't kiss you again."

"Well, let's not get crazy now," Santana said letting go of Brittany's hand, "What about next time we get drunk?"

Brittany was sure she blushed. "We can't be drunk and in secret rooms."

"Sure we can." Santana couldn't stop the flirtatious tone in her voice. "We can…"

Brittany phone rang.

"Sorry," Brittany said taking the phone out of her and looking at the screen. It was Quinn. She silenced the phone and put it back in her pocket.

"Was that Mercedes?" Santana asked, secretly hoping it was.

Brittany shook her head, "It was Quinn. I'll just call her later."

Santana's flirty mood was gone. "You said something last night, about Quinn. Do you remember that?"

"Yeah," Brittany said softly.

"So it's true? She asked you to be her…uh…her girlfriend?" Santana asked gripping her fork tighter than necessary.

"No, not really," Brittany said, "She just said she liked me."

"And you like her?"

"I do," Brittany admitted, "It's kinda complicated."

"Well, when you go around kissing other girls, I'm sure it is," Santana said dropping her fork.

Brittany hated feeling like this. Feeling so confused and conflicted. She was about to apologize again for kissing her but then remembered that Santana kissed her back. "Why did you kiss me back? You could have just pushed me away but you kissed me back. Twice. And I think you even tried to pull my dress up."

Santana fidgeted in her seat. "I told you, hot girl kisses me, I kiss back."

"Oh," Brittany said, sadly. She shrugged her shoulders, "Well, I'm glad to hear I don't repulse you or anything."

Santana took a deep breath knowing that wasn't the reason at all. If this had been any other girl, Santana was certain she would have already slept with her and had her wrapped around her little figure. But this wasn't one of those random girls that would hit on her. Brittany wasn't one of those girls that Santana could forget about the next day or week. Brittany scared her.

"I…," Santana began, "I li…forget it."

"So," Brittany began desperately wanting to change the subject, "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"What?" Santana asked snapping out of her thoughts.

"I told you yesterday I had a sister," Brittany said, "What about you?"

"Oh, uh, an older brother," Santana said, "He's a doctor, like my dad, and he's doing his residency over at Angles Hospital where my dad works."

"Oh cool!" Brittany said, impressed, "That's awesome that you have two doctors in the family. I bet you get tons of free band-aids."

Santana couldn't help but laugh, "It has it's perks."

For the rest of the dinner they swapped war stories about their siblings. How Brittany's sister glued her bedroom door shut once, how Santana's brother pretended to abandon her at the mall. Talk about kisses pushed to the back of their minds.

By the time they stepped out of the restaurant and walked out to the parking lot, it was dark. The lot was full of cars but not a person in sight.

"You should come to New York," Brittany said as they walked, "Sometime in the summer, you should come visit."

"Really?"

"Sure," Brittany said, "And Kurt too."

"That sounds like a good idea," Santana said with a smile.

"Here we go," Brittany said turning off the alarm and unlocking the doors. She opened the back door on the driver's side and put her purse inside and was surprised when Santana got into the back seat and closed the door.

"What are you doing?" Brittany asked, "You want to play taxi or something."

"Get inside," Santana demanded softly. She couldn't let Brittany keep thinking she only kissed her because she was hot. She needed to tell Brittany she liked her more than just a friend even if it meant rejection, which she was expecting. Brittany had said she had a thing for Quinn, but there was a time when Brittany had a crush on her, Santana, and maybe, just maybe…

Brittany slowly got in the backseat and closed the door. Santana just sat there looking at her hands that were on her lap. "Why are we sitting back here?"

"What I told Kurt was true," Santana said, still looking at her hands, "I don't want a relationship or a girlfriend. I suck at relationships. I'm pretty sure I'm not meant to be in one."

"Umm, OK," Brittany said, confused.

"I didn't kiss you back just because you're hot," Santana said before she lost her nerve. "I kissed you because I wanted to."

"Because you were drunk?" Brittany asked.

"No," Santana said, "I wasn't drunk. Well, not as much. I... I like you. That's why I kissed you back." Santana let out a long breath and looked at Brittany.

"I know you like me," Brittany said, "Otherwise you wouldn't be my friend."

"No, Britt…I… fuck it." Without a second's hesitation, Santana practically pounced on Brittany and brought their lips together.

Brittany was stunned. The last thing she expected was Santana to kiss her but that's exactly what happened. She brought her hand to Santana's face intending to push her away but instead brought Santana closer and deepened the kiss.

Santana pulled back just enough to speak, "Totally sober," she whispered.

"What…what are you doing?" Brittany asked, trying to catch her breath.

Santana smiled into Brittany's lips before kissing her again. She didn't know what came over her, but this sudden urge to kiss Brittany again over came her and she went with it. Kissing Brittany felt different. It was sweeter, hotter, and it made Santana feel like her whole body was buzzing. She had never felt anything remotely like this with anyone else. And that's why Brittany scared her, but she didn't want to think about that right now. Right now, she just wanted to feel and taste Brittany.

Brittany slid down the backseat as Santana pressed against her a little harder. This was a whole new experience now that she was completely sober. Last night felt like some sort or dream, and now it felt absolutely real. Santana kept pressing down and soon Brittany found herself laying on the back seat with Santana on top of her. Brittany was sure this was one of her Santana Fantasies. Making out with Santana Lopez in the back seat of her car was something she never would have thought would happen. The reality was a thousand times more amazing than the fantasy.

Brittany felt Santana move from her lips to her neck. Brittany moaned. Or Santana did, she couldn't tell. Their lips devoured each other and Brittany ran her hand through Santana's hair and it was quickly becoming one of her favorite things. When she felt Santana's hand travel up her thigh, she thought that maybe that was her new favorite thing.

"Ahh, Britt...," Santana moaned.

Brittany moved from kissing Santana's lips to nibbling on her neck. "I can't believe I'm making out with Santana Lopez," Brittany said with a smile.

"What?" Santana asked, moving to look at Brittany. She had heard that exact same sentence many times from the girls she had been with during her years at ULA. Girls who hooked up withe her only to be able to brag that they had made out with the resident celebrity. For the most part, Santana didn't care as long as she got her hook up, but that didn't mean she liked hearing it. Before she could think anymore about what Brittany had said she felt a tongue lick up her neck all the way up to her earlobe. "Oh God," Santana whispered, her voice dripping with lust.

A phone rang. And kept ringing.

"That's me," Brittany said detaching herself from Santana's neck.

"Shit," Santana said, trying to control her breath, "If that's Quinn again you should tell her to fuck off."

Brittany pushed Santana away from her a little, "What?"

Santana looked down at Brittany, "You should just tell her you're not interested in being with her."

"Why would I do that?"

"Why?" Santana asked, surprised. She sat up. "Maybe because you're making out with me? Again."

Brittany moved to sit up, "But I'm not sure yet."

"Not sure of what?"

Brittany let out a breath and decided to just be honest. "I like Quinn. And I like you. I like both of you."

"I know you said you liked Quinn, but that was before."

"Before what?"

"Before you and I kissed. Three times! So, just tell Quinn to back off and you and I can just keep doing this." Santana said in such a way that it sounded like it was the most logical thing in the world. She had never been anyone's second choice and she wasn't about to start being one now.

Brittany furrowed her brow trying to understand what Santana was saying. "But…I can't just stop liking Quinn all of a sudden. It's not like I can just flip a switch and stop caring about her. It doesn't work that way. Believe me, I tried that with you many times."

"Wait so, you've actively tried to stop liking me, but you won't so the same with Quinn?" Santana asked, now getting a little angry.

"It's different!" Brittany insisted. She moved further back from Santana until her back hit the door. "I've had a thing for you for two years! It sucked, Santana! Do you have any idea how awful it feels to like someone who doesn't know you exist? No. Of course you don't. You're Santana Lopez! I'm sure you have your pick of any girl in the city."

"Two years?" Santana was rarely shocked, but hearing that Brittany had had a crush on her for two years made her scoot back until she hit the back door. "Why…why, uh, didn't you ever come up to me? Asked me out or something?"

Brittany couldn't help herself. She laughed. "Seriously? Every time I happen to see you on campus, you'd be with some hot girl or girls. I went to one of those football parties with Mercedes once, and you were like some hot chick magnet. You honestly think that if I had come up to you, you would have given me the time of day?"

"I…maybe," Santana said, unsure of what to say.

"Right," Brittany said, shaking her head, "And besides I started dating Jesse, he liked me and wanted to be with me."

"That's not fair." Santana felt like she needed to defend herself, "You don't know what I would have done. Shit, I don't know what I would have done! But considering we've made out multiple times now, I probable would have given you a chance."

"Gee, thanks," Brittany said, sarcastically. She rarely got mad, but Santana was making her mad now.

Santana felt herself getting frustrated. "What do you want me to say?"

"Nothing," Brittany said, letting out a long breath, "Nothing. Let's just…I'll take you home." Brittany turned to open the car door.

"Wait!" Santana said, "So that's it? We just pretend this didn't happen?"

"You said you don't want a girlfriend…."

"I don't," Santana admitted, "I'm not…I told you I'm not good at relationships."

"…and there's Quinn…"

Santana clenched her jaw.

"I'm leaving in about a month." Brittany finished.

Santana rolled her eye, "It's not like you're moving to Japan or something. You keep talking about New York like it's some great journey across the world."

"But it is!" Brittany said, "It's not just a job…"

"Listen," Santana interrupted, "I like you. A lot. More than I've liked any of those other 'hot girls' you say you've seen me with. And you like me too! So, why not keep doing this?" She motioned between them. "Maybe even do what you said last night. You know, do this until you leave and then hit the reset button." Santana bit her lip and watched for Brittany's reaction. All she wanted was to kiss her again, but didn't want to think about what it would mean. She couldn't. Not now. Every girl she had ever been with was forgotten and there was never any type of friendship after. Santana didn't want Brittany to disappear and she knew that's what would happen if they started dating. She couldn't risk that and that's when she wondered if Brittany's suggestion may actually work.

Brittany looked at Santana and wanted nothing more than to kiss her again. But then what? They'd hook up for a month and then break up? No, Brittany thought. Everything was so complicated about being with Santana and Brittany hated that she'd end up ruining their friendship just for a month of them being together making out and…other stuff.

"I really want to kiss you again," Brittany admitted causing Santana to smile, "But I really like our friendship and I don't want to ruin that. And..."

"It won't ruin it," Santana said, scooting closer, "We could just have a different kind of friendship. A special friendship. One where we kiss and make out and…" Santana was now close enough to place a kiss on Brittany's cheek and moved her hand up to caress her other one. She turned Brittany's head and kissed her lips again. She dared to nibble on her lower lip slowly and when Brittany didn't push her away, Santana traced her tongue along Brittany's lip. She could do this all day and night.

"Santana," Brittany whimpered against the cheerleader's lips. She should stop this, but instead she grabbed Santana by the back of her neck and deepened their kiss. That small voice in her head telling her this was her last chance was back. Maybe just this one last time.

Santana grabbed the front of Brittany's shirt with her fists and pulled her down until Santana's back hit the backseat with Brittany on top of her. She could'n believe they were making out in the backseat of a car. Santana hand't done that since high school and she had forgotten how uncomfortable it was. There wasn't any room to really stretch out and that's all she wanted, to feel Brittany fully on top of her. Santana bent her leg between Brittany's legs and let the other drape over the side of the seat. Brittany seemed to have a harder time getting comfortable being that she was way taller, but somehow managed. Santana's left hand ran her hand up Brittany's thigh again and was disappointed her dinner companion had worn pants.

Brittany was sure she was drunk again. How else could she explain begin on top of Santana with her tongue in the other girl's mouth fighting for control. How else could she explain feeling Santana's hand move up her thigh and eventually land on her ass, squeezing it and kneading it and Brittany unconsciously grinding herself between Santana's legs. Everything about what was happening was too good to be true. She was so turned on she was starting to feel a little dizzy.

"Britt.." Santana moaned as she moved to take Brittany's earlobe in her mouth. She felt her underwear sticking to her as she moved her hips to keep up with Brittany's rhythm. "Britt…" She breathed into the ear near her mouth, "Let's….mmmmm, let's go back to my…my place. Or yours. Just some, somewhere with a bed."

Brittany ignored Santana's request and kissed her again and ground her hips harder against Santana causing the girl below her to let out a surprised squeal. Brittany had never really been one to take control when it came to sex, but with Santana, that Last Chance voice was taking over and she wanted to experience all she could while she had the chance. Brittany slowly moved her hand to the hem of Santana's shirt and pushed it up, never breaking their kiss. She ran her hand up along the hot bare flesh until she reached Santana's breast, causing the shorter girl to moan in Brittany's mouth.

"Britt…" Santana said, now panting, "Seriously let's…oh God…let's go back to my…my place." Santana felt her hips move faster against Brittany and knew if they didn't stop soon, she was going to lose control. She didn't want her first time with Brittany to be them dry humping in the parking lot of a Mexican restaurant. She was sure this was by far the hottest experience of her life yet. She wanted this girl like she had never wanted anyone.

Brittany ignored Santana again. She knew she had to stop soon because she was starting to feel that familiar pressure in the pit of her stomach get stronger. She just wanted to experience as much as she could before she had to stop. She couldn't have sex with Santana. Not when Brittany was still so confused about her feelings. Everything was moving too fast.

Just then, they heard muffled voices coming from outside. It sounded like two guys.

"...Man, I'm making some mad tips today," one said.

"Told you this gig would pay," the other one said.

Santana and Brittany froze. It sounded like the guys working at the valet station.

"Shit," Santana whispered.

The two valets kept talking for a couple of minutes before they left. After they were sure the valets were gone, Santana and Brittany separated and sat back up.

"Wow," Brittany said, running her hands through her hair, "Did we almost get caught making out in the backseat of my car?"

"Almost," Santana said smiling, "Which was actually a good thing since you couldn't seem to stop."

Brittany was glad it was dark so Santana couldn't see the embarrassment on her face. "Sorry. I just… got carried away, I guess."

"Hell, don't be sorry," Santana grinned, "You just can't keep your hands off me."

"Me?" Brittany asked, hating that she wanted to laugh, "Who started this whole thing?"

Santana smiled then leaned in and gently nibbled on Brittany's lower lip. Brittany closed her eyes and forced herself to pull back. "We should go."

Santana, with some difficultly, sat up and looked across the backseat at Brittany. "My place or yours?"

"Yours," Brittany said and opened the backseat door and got out.

Santana grinned and did this same. When she got into the front seat, Brittany turned on the car and pulled out of the parking lot.

The ride to Santana's building was a quiet one, each girl lost in their own thoughts. When Brittany parked in front of Santana's building, she kept the car running.

"Umm, Britt," Santana said, "You're in a red zone. My building has guest parking so you can just…"

"I'm not coming in," Brittany said, letting out a breath.

"What?" Santana asked, surprised, "I thought…I mean, aren't we going to continue where we left off?"

Brittany shook her head.

Santana didn't think it was possible to feel embarrassed, rejected and disappointed all at once, but apparently it was possible. "Why?"

Brittany turned to look at Santana, "It's too fast. This special friendship you said we could have, it's …shouldn't we think it over or something? I know we only have like a month left…"

"Yeah," Santana chimed in, "And that's why we should have lots of sex before you leave and we hit this 'reset' button you suggested. Then, when you come ba…."

"It's weird!" Brittany interrupted, "Isn't it? I'm just so confused right now. I mean, the girl I've had a crush on for two years finally likes me too. I still can't believe it."

"We'll believe it," Santana said, "I do like you and want to be with you."

"But not date me," Brittany stated.

Santana sighed, "Can we not bring dating into this? I told you, I'm just not cut out for a relationship and I don't want to lose you as a friend and that's exactly what's going to happen if this does turn into a dating thing. You'll end up hating me and never speak to me again."

"That's not true," Brittany protested.

"Yes, it is!"

"And how is will this arrangement not make me hate you?" Brittany asked, now really confused.

"Hey, you suggested it," Santana said, "And, like you said, while you're in New York, we'll have time to see what this is."

"I…" Brittany began. She wasn't sure what she was going to say. "I'll, I'll think about it."

Santana let out a relieved breath. Truthfully, she had no idea what she was doing. She wanted Brittany and wanted to be with her, but there was that fear again. The one telling her that told her that she'd mess it up and Brittany would just become one of those girls she dated in college. Santana didn't want that. She felt like she needed to have Brittany in her life, somehow.

"OK," Santana said, "Thanks for dinner."

"You're welcome," Brittany said with a small smile.

"I'll call you tomorrow," Santana said and opened the door and got out.

Brittany nodded and watched as Santana walked into her building. "What the hell is going on?" She asked herself.

Her phone alerted her to a text. It was Quinn.

_Hey! Haven't heard from you all day, you OK? Hung over from the club? - QF_

Brittany smiled and texted her back.

_Hi. Sorry, I've been busy. I'm not hung over anymore. - BP_

_Good. Just wanted to make sure you were OK. You can tell me all about it tomorrow at school. - QF_

Brittany looked back at the front of Santana's building. She looked back at her phone and sent out another text.

_How about now? I should be home in like 15 minutes. Want to come over? - BP_

_Sure! I'll be there. :-) - QF_

Brittany put her phone down and drove home.

###

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Kurt said.

Santana hugged her couch pillow closer. After Brittany had dropped her off, she had called Kurt to come over and told him everything that had happened with Brittany.

"It's not."

"Yes, it is!" Kurt said, "You're trying to have your cake and eat it too!"

"I…," Santana began but stopped when she realized Kurt had a point. "Maybe. But this was Brittany's idea! Not mine."

"Uh, yeah," Kurt said, "An idea she had while she was totally wasted."

"Look, it was still her idea," Santana said not sure if she was trying to convince Kurt or herself this was the way to go. "I'm just trying to do things the way she wants to."

Kurt let out a huff of air and leaned back on the couch and looked up at the ceiling. "What's happened to you?" Kurt asked turning to look at Santana. "Usually when you want a girl all you do is point and she's yours and you don't care what happens after."

Santana shrugged her shoulders.

"Even with Kate, you never went through this much trouble."

"Yeah, we'll let's chalk up Kate to a mistake made by temporary insanity." Santana said, "God, I still can't even believe I asked that girl to be my girlfriend and dated her for four months."

"None of us can," Kurt said, "You're not really a long term kinda girl."

"Exactly!" Santana said, "I'm not. And that's why I can't just go up to Brittany and ask her to be my girlfriend or whatever."

"So you're just going to sleep with her?," Kurt asked in disbelief, "Brittany isn't Kate. She's not a girl on your squad. She's not one of those sorority girls you like so much."

"I know that," Santana said softly, "And that's why I'm handling this the way she wants to."

"But…I really don't think using your usual 'sex first' technique is the best way to go here."

"Brittany fits with all of us," Santana continued,ignoring what Kurt's last sentence, "In our group, so I just…want to do what she wants. And she just got out of a long term relationship, one that was way more serious than mine. It's understandable she wants to do this."

"Wait," Kurt said holding up his hand, "Didn't she tell you she has a thing for Quinn?"

"Quinn's the one with the thing for Brittany," Santana clarified, "Brittany said she likes Quinn too, but after what happened between us, Quinn's not a problem."

"So, you're not worried Quinn's going to like swoop in or something?"

"Listen," Santana said letting go of the pillow in her hand, "Brittany sure as hell wasn't thinking about Quinn in the backseat of her car."

"Sometimes I forget you're ego has it's own zip code," Kurt said shaking his head.

"Brittany has had a thing for me for two years!" Santana almost shouted, "Two!"

"Seriously?" Kurt asked, intrigued.

"Yeah."

"Why didn't she ask you out?" Kurt asked.

"She said she didn't think I'd give her the time of day," Santana said.

"She's probably right," Kurt agreed.

"Excuse me? You think I would have turned Brittany down? Have you seen her? She's gorgeous!"

"She's very pretty," Kurt said, "But Cheerleader Santana wouldn't really go for Film Geek Brittany."

"You don't know that," Santana said crossing her arms. She wasn't sure why she was getting mad about some hypothetical situation.

"So what happens when Brittany goes to New York?" Kurt asked.

Santana shrugged her shoulders. "She goes to New York for the summer and when she comes back, maybe we can… I don't' know."

"You know she'll be in New York _with_ Quinn," Kurt said, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not going to lie," Santana said, "On paper, she and Brittany sound like the perfect couple. And before the club and Brittany's car, I thought Brittany might have a real thing for Quinn. But not anymore. She may say she does, but she doesn't. Not when she kissed me like that. No way! Brittany liked me first."

"'Brittany liked'…." Kurt began to repeat, "Good Lord, you sound like a second grader."

"Fuck you!"

Kurt sunk his body into the couch, "This just sounds like a big fucking mess and you're just making it more complicated than it has to be."

"It's not complicated," Santana said even thought she knew she was lying. "Brittany likes me. And I like her."

"That's your problem." Kurt said.

Santana just rolled her eyes. "What is?"

"You like Brittany and even care about her. It scares you."

"Fuck you." Santana said agin.

###

When Brittany got home she immediately changed into her favorite light blue pajama bottoms with kittens on them and a white tank top. The clothes she wore to dinner with Santana felt like they were suffocating her and she needed to get them off as soon as possible. It was still early, but she didn't plan on going out anymore.

There was a knock at her door. When she opened it she found a smiling Quinn holding a small box of cupcakes.

"I was craving something sweet," Quinn said, "You interested?"

Brittany smiled and brought Quinn in for a hug. Any confusing thoughts she had about what had happened earlier seemed to disappear. That's what she loved about being around Quinn, she loved feeling relaxed and feeling that everything was going to be OK. "Hi."

"Hi," Quinn said returning the hug as best she could while holding the cupcakes, "Are you OK?"

"Yeah," Brittany said pulling back, "Come in."

Quinn walked in and sat on the couch, putting the cupcakes on the coffee table in front of her. "I feel like I haven't seen you in months."

"Well, that's your fault," Brittany said, sitting next to Quinn, "You keep staying away from me."

"Right," Quinn said with a sad smile.

Even though it had only been a few days, Brittany had actually missed Quinn. She had thought her situation with Quinn was complicated and messed up, but she was wrong. Looking at Quinn now, every thing made more sense. There was no drama with Quinn, no worrying about special relationships, no worrying about living on opposite ends of the country, no complications. Nothing like what was happening with Santana.

"Do you still like me?" Brittany asked.

Quinn looked surprised. "Of course I do."

"I mean, really like me," Brittany tried to clarify, "Like me, like want to date me, like me."

Quinn let out a small chuckle, "Yeah. I like you and I would also like to date you."

Brittany smiled and couldn't help fell a little blush on her cheeks. "OK."

"What's this about?" Quinn asked, turning to sit so she could fully face Brittany.

"I had dinner with Santana earlier," Brittany said letting out a breath.

"Oh," Quinn siad quietly, "And?"

"She doesn't want to date me," Brittany said shrugging her shoulders.

"Then she's an idiot," Quinn said, "But, at the same time, I'm glad to hear it because, well, at least I know I'm back in the game."

"Am I the game?," Brittany asked smiling, "Because if I am, I'd like to be baseball and you were never out of it. I'm just figuring stuff out."

"And have you?" Quinn asked with a hint of hopefulness in her voice.

"I'm getting there," Brittany said, "But I do know that I like you. I like being with you and you don't make me all confused."

"Well, I'm glad," Quinn said with a bashful smile. She moved closer to Brittany and reached for her hand, "I'm still going to wait to ask you my question when we leave for New York, though. When we can have a totally fresh start."

"OK," Brittany said softly. She wondered if she could kiss Quinn. She wanted to see if kissing Quinn was like kissing Santana. Would it feel just as amazing? Would it feel just as hot? Would it feel just as tingly?

"What is it Britt?"

"Can…can I kiss you?" Brittany asked shyly, "Just once. It doesn't have to mean we're dating or anything. I mean, I'm still trying to figure things but I just…"

"Britt," Quinn said squeezing her hand, "Slow down."

"Sorry," Brittany said quietly. She looked into Quinn's eyes and relaxed. They were so different from Santana's eyes. Santana's eyes had this intense fire in them, but were also very soft they almost made Brittany melt. Quinn didn't have that fire, but she had this tranquility in them that made Brittany feel calm and safe.

"It's OK," Quinn siad softly.

Brittany scooted closer and lifted her hand to Quinn's cheek, then further back to the base of her neck. "Just once," Brittany said softly before bringing their lips together. The kiss was shy at first, and Brittany could only think of comparing this kiss to the ones she had shared with Santana and that wasn't helping her at all. She mentally shook her head and concentrated on kissing Quinn. Just Quinn. And when she did, she found that she really liked it.

Quinn's lips were soft and she tasted like strawberries. "Did you eat strawberries?" Brittany asked against Quinn's lips, her breath a little heavy.

"Umm…had a smoothie..before…" Quinn breathes before pulling Brittany back to her lips. Brittany felt Quinn's arms go around her neck and pulled her closer. Then she felt Quinn's tongue meet her own. She let out a small moan as she fell on top of Quinn until they were laying on her couch. Brittany couldn't believe she was in the exact same position she had been in earlier but with a different person. She had never kissed two people in the same day, ever. Hell, she had never kissed two people in the same month. But here she was, making out with Quinn when just a few hours ago she had made out with Santana.

With Santana things felt urgent, like any second Santana would disappear and she'd never see her again. Brittany had felt like she needed to kiss and feel as much of Santana as soon as possible because she knew she would never be able to get as much as she wanted. Everything felt hot and passionate. It was even a little scary.

With Quinn things felt more slow and and sweet. Like Brittany could kiss her for hours and waste the day away without any worry. Everything felt sensual and passionate and not scary at all.

Brittany moved from kissing Quinn's lips to kissing her neck, making Quinn moan. Brittany slowly continued to trail up Quinn's neck until she reached her jawline.

"Uh…Britt…," Quinn breathed out, "This…this is more than just, um, a kiss."

Brittany lifted her head and looked down at Quinn, "Sorry. I just got carried away."

Quinn let out a small laugh before lifting her head up and kissing Brittany's lips again. This time it was Brittany's turn to let out a small moan. She still couldn't believe she was actually doing this. This wasn't her. When she was with Santana she had felt a little guilty because of Quinn. Now that she was with Quinn, she was feeling guilty because of Santana.

"Mmmm…wait," Brittany said breaking away, "We…we have to stop."

"You're right," Quinn said and then proceeded to kiss Brittany's neck.

"Qui…," Brittany began to say, forcing herself not to close her eyes, "We should stop." Brittany pulled further back and sat back on the couch.

Quinn let out a long breath and moved to sit on the coach. "Sorry. I've just…I've been wanting to do that for a really long time."

Brittany smiled and ran a hand through her hair. "Why? I mean, why do you like me so much?"

"I just…my love life has been a mess since the first time I went out on a date. I swear I'm a magnet for jerks, assholes and bitches. I'm not good at relationships."

"Am I an asshole?" Brittany asked, seriously.

"God no!" Quinn said with a small laugh, "You're the opposite of an asshole. You're the opposite of anyone I've ever met. I just, I always end up getting screwed over and it sucks. You're the first person to actually show me you care about me and my life and…I just feel different with you. Like maybe I can give this relationship thing another try. You make me feel hope that not everyone out there is an asshole. Plus, you're really hot."

Brittany laughed. She was really touched by what Quinn had said and it made her feel closer to her. Brittany moved and brought her in for a hug, "I think you're really hot too."

"Thanks," Quinn said with a chuckle.

"And I don't think you're an asshole either," Brittany said pulling back. "Look, I'm still sorting this thing out with Santana."

Quinn slowly nodded.

"Let's wait, like you said, until we leave for New York," Brittany said, "Then you can ask me your question. But until then, let's just…be friends. OK?"

"OK," Quinn said, "Just remember Brittany, I do want to date you and we'll both be starting a new life in New York. I'm not playing any games. I want to be with you. I don't know if it'll work, but I want to give it a shot."

"I know," Brittany said softly. She loved how straight forward and honest Quinn was.

Quinn leaned in and placed a small kiss on Brittany's lips. "I'll be your friend for now. And even if you say no to my question, I'll still try to find a way to stay your friend."

"I'd really like that," Brittany said. She didn't want to lose Quinn and knowing that even if Brittany didn't chose to be with her, Quinn would still be in her life.

"I should go," Quinn said, "But before I go…"

Brittany was surprised when Quinn grabbed her by the back of her neck and brought her in for another deep kiss. Brittany kissed her back.

"Sorry," Quinn said letting her go, "It's just, that could have been my last chance to kiss you. Enjoy the cupcakes."

Once Quinn was gone, Brittany let her body stretch out on her couch. "Last chance."

###

Santana wasn't sure what to do. What exactly was the protocol for the day after having a heavy make out session with your student? Flowers? Candy? She sighed. She looked at the item in her hands and decided that a travel book about New York's best tourist spots would have to do. She had gone to the bookstore by her building earlier in the morning to pick up a copy of The American Literature Review, where she could finally see her short stories published. After picking up a couple of copies, she had wandered over to the travel section and ended up also buying a book for Brittany.

In truth, she felt like she needed an excuse to see Brittany, like she couldn't just show up without a reason. So here she was now, walking into the film department for the first time in her four years at this school, in search of the film major.

She walked down the hall and luckily ran into someone she knew.

"Santana!" Mike said coming up to her, "What bring you by to the Film Geek Lair?"

"Hey Mike," Santana said with a smile, surprised she was actually glad to see him, "I'm actually looking for Brittany. Have you seen her?"

"Figures," Mike said with a chuckle, "Umm, she's probably in the editing room. It's straight ahead to the right. Last door."

"Thanks Mike," Santana said, "You doing more make up stuff?"

"Yup. Final projects are coming up and everyone's going crazy trying to finish their movies or whatever they're working on. I'm actually on my way to put blood all over some guy."

"Groovy," Santana said.

"I love it!" Mike said with a big smile, "Gotta get lots of practice before I start working for a real special effects department."

"Oh, you have a job lined up already?"

"I do!" Mike said, proudly, "I'm going to be working over at New Directions Studios."

"Oh wow! Congrats."

"Thanks! I'm glad I got something here. Not like Britt who has to go all the way to New York. I'm trying to convince her to apply at New Directions.

"I'm sure they'd hire her in a second," Santana stated, "But, she's really excited about this New York thing, maybe when that's over and she comes back you can hook her up at New Directions."

Santana saw the confused look on Mike's face and wondered what that was about.

"Umm, yeah, I guess," Mike said, "Maybe by that time I'll have been promoted and have more pull there. Anyway, sorry but I gotta go. Blood and guts await!"

"Later Mike," Santana said. Santana wondered just how good of a make up artist Mike was if he thought he could get promoted by fall.

"Oh hey!" Mike shouted from the end of the hall, "Did you get Rachel's grad party invite?"

"Not yet!" Santana said rolling her eyes. She couldn't believe that elf had actually made invitations like she was in elementary school.

"It's going to be awesome!" Mike yelled and left he building.

Santana walked over to the editing room and saw blond hair just peaking over one of the large monitors. She took a deep breath. "Hey."

The blond looked up. It was the wrong blond.

"Oh, hey Santana," Quinn said looking up, "How's it going?" She gave her a big smile almost like she was actually happy to see her.

Santana wasn't sure what was going on. Quinn looked happy. Santana tried not to shake her head in pity. She actually felt a little sorry for Quinn. The poor girl had this huge crush on Brittany and Brittany was just going to break her heart. The thought actually made Santana smirk. She wasn't one to wish bad things on anyone, well not always, but something about Quinn really bugged her.

"Hi Quinn." Santana walked into the editing room and stopped next to the desk across the one Quinn was sitting in, "Shouldn't you be filing or something? Isn't this editing equipment for students only?"

Quinn let out a small chuckle, "I can use it too. I'm just touching up one of my shorts so I can add it to my film portfolio."

Santana looked at the screen and raised an eyebrow in confusion. All she saw was some girl running across a field with a chair over her head. "Looks…weird."

"It's not done," Quinn said smiling. "So, what bring you by?"

"Brittany," Santana said with a sly smile.

"Hmmm," Quinn hummed looking straight into Santana's eyes, "I haven't seen her today, but she should be here soon."

"I'll wait." Santana put her bag on the empty desk behind her and sat down.

Quinn went back to her editing. "Brittany said you guys had dinner last night. Did you have fun?"

Santana froze in surprise. Brittany had told Quinn about their dinner? Did she tell her about what happened in the backseat of the car? "Umm, yeah. The food was good."

"No dessert?" Quinn asked never taking her eyes off the screen.

Santana felt like she was in some secret competition with Quinn. Everything seemed just a little more tense than it should be. "Nope."

"People hardly have dessert anymore," Quinn said, "I'm sure Brittany enjoyed her dessert back at her place."

Santana was starting to wonder if Quinn was drunk. She wasn't making any sense. "I guess."

Quinn looked at Santana, her eyes landing on the book in front of her, "Is that a New York travel book?"

"Yeah," Santana said, "I figured Britt would need one while she's there."

"That's sweet of you," Quinn said, "Though, I've been to New York a million times, I was planning on showing her around. And besides, after a few weeks she won't be a tourist anymore."

Santana fought the urge to get up and punch Quinn in the face. "Well, you can't be with her all the time. I'm sure she's going to want her space."

"Probably," Quinn said, smiling.

"So," Santana said crossing her legs, "You lied to me."

"When?"

"You said you aren't into women, but a little bird told me you are."

Quinn gave Santana a small smile and retuned to her screen. "I said I wasn't a lesbian. I'm not. But I am into women."

Santana just rolled her eyes. Guess that's just another thing Quinn and Brittany have in common, she thought. She was starting to wonder if waiting for Brittany was a good idea. She should just text her and ask her to meet at The Bean later. She looked over at Quinn and crossed her arms. No, she'd stay here. This silent standoff she was having with Quinn was not over and Santana sure as hell wasn't going to lose.

##

Brittany walked across the quad and headed straight to the film department. She hadn't gotten halfway across when she heard her name. She turned around and saw the last person she expected. Kate.

"Hi Brittany," Kate said with a smile, "How are you?"

"Oh, uh, hey Kate…I'm fine," Brittany said, feeling slightly nervous, "How are you?"

"Great," Kate said, her smile never leaving her face, "I saw you at the club the other day. With Santana."

Brittany swallowed. She just nodded.

"Listen Brittany," Kate said, her voice sounding impossibly nice, "I'm going to give you some advice. That video you made for me, got me an audition for a Lifetime movie and I got the part!"

"Gre…great," Brittany stammered, "Congratulations."

"Thanks!" Kate said proudly, "Anyway, because of your video, I'm getting a huge break. I fee like I owe you."

"But, you paid me already."

"No Brittany," Kate said, "Owe you some advice. Don't become one of Santana's play things."

Brittany's eyes went wide.

"I saw the way you were dancing with her at the club," Kate went on, "Don't let her suck you in to her little sex trap. She'll use you and dump you."

"Why are you telling me this?" Brittany wasn't sure where any of this was coming from.

"I told you," Kate said, "Your video got me a part in that Lifetime movie, I'm just doing you a favor." Kate reached over and gave Brittany's arm a squeeze. "Santana will try to sleep with you as soon as possible then keep that up for about a week or so and you'll never hear from her again. That's her thing."

Brittany shook her head, "But, she dated you for like six months or something."

"Almost five months," Kate corrected, "And, we'll, what can I say, she fell in love with me at first sight."

"Then why did she dump you?"

Kate looked angry. "She didn't dump me, I dumped her! Actually, we decided to take a break because things were getting too serious. We just needed to step back for a bit. I'm sure she'll come crawling back."

Brittany wasn't sure what to say.

"Anyway," Kate said, "If you don't believe me about Santana, just ask some of the girls in her squad. Or some of the girls over at Alpha Omega Kappa. They'll all tell you the same thing. I would just hate to see you get hurt."

Brittany still said nothing. She was trying to process everything that Kate was saying. Was it true? Is that why Santana was so willing to go along with the special friendship for a month plan, she wondered. No strings attached.

"I…" Brittany began.

"I have to go," Kate said, "It's best if you just stay away from her. You know who you should date? That girl Quinn you're always hanging around with. She seems super sweet."

Kate gave Brittany one last smile and left.

###

Santana was getting impatient. She had only been waiting for Brittany 10 minutes but it felt like an hour, mostly thanks to Quinn. Just her mere presence made time move slower. Just as she was about to take out her phone to text Brittany, the film major entered the room.

"Hey Quinn, sorry I'm late but I ran into…." Brittany stopped talking when she was in the room and spotted Santana. Spotted Santana sitting across from Quinn. "Oh crap," She said under her breath. She felt like her heart had travled from her chest to her throat. Seeing the two people she had made out with last night in the same room, was right out of some movie.

"Hey Brittany," Santana said standing up, a smile on her face. She hated that she felt kind of nervous.

"Umm, hey," Brittany said surprised, "What…what are you doing here?"

"She bought you a book," Quinn answered leaning back in her chair.

Santana turned to glare at Quinn then turned to Brittany. Her expression softened. "I was in the book store and I saw this." She lifted the book so Brittany could have a better look, "For your trip."

Brittany was actually touched that Santana had gotten her a gift but wasn't sure how to react with Quinn watching her too. "Wow, thanks." Brittany said and returned Santana's smile.

Santana went up to Brittany, glad to turn her back to Quinn and gave Brittany the book. "So you can get ideas on where to take me when I go visit." Santana said softly, so that Quinn couldn't hear.

Brittany wanted to hug Santana but didn't. Having Quinn and Santana in the same room was not helping her sort out her feelings. "I'll pick some good places."

Santana quickly looked back to glance at Quinn. The film assistant was watching them without even trying to be subtle. Santana turned back to Brittany and lowered her voice. "Did you think about, what we talked about last night?"

Brittany could only feel disappointment at Santana's question and heard Kate's words in her head. "Umm, no…can we talk about this later?"

"Right," Santana said, "Somewhere without an audience."

"Holly's waiting for us Britt," Quinn said from her desk.

"Yeah, sure," Brittany said holding on to her new book for dear life.

Before anyone could say anything else, Rachel burst into the editing room.

"Oh fantastic!" Rachel said sounding impossibly energetic, "I came looking for Brittany but I'm glad you two are here as well."

"What do you want?" Santana asked, annoyed.

"I have your invitations for my party," Rachel said handing one to each woman.

"Sugar's party," Santana said.

"My party!" Rachel said, "It's my house, so my party."

"I thought you were going to mail these?" Brittany asked.

"This seemed more personal," Rachel said, "Also there's less of a chance for them to get lost in the mail."

"Thanks Rachel," Quinn said, "I mean, even though I'm not graduating, I'd love to go to your party."

"Yay!" Rachel said clapping her hands, "I'm glad you're going Quinn. Even though we haven't hung out much, I consider you part of our group."

"Are _you_ even part of our group?" Santana asked Rachel.

"Anyway," Rachel said ignoring Santana, "You better be there Quinn."

"I will be," Quinn said, smiling.

"Great!" Rachel said, "We'll I'll leave you ladies. I have many invites to give out."

Santana looked at the clock on the wall and realized if she should probably get to her class. "I'll walk with you Rachel. I have to get to English."

"Perfect!" Rachels said, "I want to bounce some ideas off of you about the menu."

Santana groaned and was already regretting her decision. She turned to Brittany. "I'll call you later. I really want to finish talking about...things."

Brittany nodded. She watched Rachel and Santana leave the editing room and then turned to Quinn.

"What does she want to talk about?" Quinn asked.

"She...my paper," Brittany lied, "I still have one more to write so I can graduate."

Quinn smiled. "You'll graduate Britt. And I'll be there in the front row, cheering you on."

Brittany took in a deep breath. Graduation was so close and she just wished it as already behind her.

###

Santana took a deep breath and raised her hand to knock on Brittany's door. The day turned out to be busy for both of them that they couldn't find time to meet on campus, so Brittany had invited Santana over to her apartment to finish their talk. Talk. Santana smirked and knew that if this meeting would be anything like their last two, talking wasn't the only thing happening tonight.

Santana hadn't stopped thinking about what had happened and about their possible arrangement. All she knew was that she wanted Brittany. Wanted to be with her and near her. She had spent most of last night thinking about why she was so drawn to Brittany and still couldn't figure it out. Which was why Santana felt that maybe if they just slept together, things would be more clear. She didn't care what Kurt had said, her "sex first technique" was the way to go. Brittany wanted it that way, and maybe, that's what this was anyway. Just some sort of lust filled attraction.

"Yeah right," Santana said to herself. Even in her mind, she couldn't totally buy that excuse.

She raised her hand and knocked.

Brittany heard the knock at the door and wiped her palms on her shorts. Her hands had gotten impossibly sweaty. She reached the door and slowly opened it. Santana stood there looking just as beautiful as ever. "Hi."

"Hey," Santana said with a big smile. They stood there for a while and as much as she liked looking at Brittany, she really wanted to come in. "Are we doing this out here?"

"Oh! Right!" Brittany said moving away from the door, "Come in."

Santana smiled and stepped inside. Brittany's apartment was only slightly bigger han hers but felt more lived in. Well, it would if it weren't for the boxes all over the living room. "Do you really need to pack everything? I mean, all you'll really need is your clothes in N.Y.C."

"I'm moving most of it to my parent's house," Brittany said closing the door, "My lease is up for this place so I don't need it anymore."

"Oh," Santana said, going to sit on the couch, "I guess you can stay with your parents until you find another place."

Brittany furrowed her eyebrows, "Um, I guess. When I visit I'll be staying with them."

"Cool," Santana said, happy to hear that Brittany would be coming back during the summer. "Do yo need help packing?"

"Nah, I'm good." Brittany smiled and went over to sit next to Santana. She felt like she was repeating what had happened last night. But except Santana was sitting next to her and not Quinn.

"So," Santana said letting out a nervous chuckle, "Let's just get down to it. Should we try this special friendship you suggested?"

Brittany forced a smile as Kate's words echoed in her mind. S_antana will try to sleep with you as soon as possible. _"Umm..."

Santana inched closer. She had wanted to kiss Brittany as soon as the door opened. She couldn't understand how this one girl had such a strong pull over her. Was it because she hadn't had sex in a while, she wondered. But if it was just horny hormones, Santana could have called up any of her past hook ups and taken care of things weeks ago. This was something else.

"Just as a reminder..." Santanas whispered. She got even closer to Brittany and slowly closed the gap between them and their lips met, again.

Brittany let herself fall into Santana's sex trap or whatever it was that Kate had called it. She just couldn't help herself, not when she had imagined kissing Santana for so long. Her lips were so soft and warm and, to Brittany, they even felt fluffy. When she felt the tip of Santana's tongue on her lower lip, Brittany parted her mouth more and encouraged Santana to slip her tongue inside.

Any anxiety Santana had had about kissing Brittany was gone. Brittany was kissing her back with the same want and fervor that Santana felt. Without breaking the kiss, she moved and straddled Brittany, happy that she had decided to wear a skirt and that Brittany was wearing shorts. The contact of their bare skin made this make out session a thousand times better. All Santana wanted to do was rip off every piece of clothing Brittany was wearing and feel her naked against her. Santana really did wonder if it was the lack of sex for weeks that was making her feel so turned on or if it was Brittany. Maybe it was both, but right now she didn't care.

If Brittany hadn't been so focused on how her and Santana's tongues were crashing into each other, she was sure she would have freaked out that Santana was now sitting on her lap. The hot skin of her thigh slowly rocking against her bare skin. Every fantasy she had ever had about Santana was coming true in some way or another and Brittany still couldn't believe how much better the reality of everything was. She wondered how Santana could make her feel like she was losing the last bit of her self control because that's what was happening. She felt it happening. She felt Santana move her lips to her neck. She felt Santana slowly rock her hips into her. She felt just how damp Santana's panties were. Brittany let out a moan. Santana was just as turned on as she was.

"See," Santana breathed into Brittany's ear, "You...you can't keep your hands off of me."

Brittany nibbled on Santana's earlobe before answering. "You started this. Again."

Santana was surprised that she actually giggled like some school girl. She leaned back to look at Brittany's eyes and her giggle faded when she saw just how intense they were. They were a shade darker than usual. "So, I take it you want to do this? The Special Friendship you suggested."

Brittany blinked. There it was again. Santana already wanting to have an excuse not have this be anything more than friends having sex. "You called it a Special Friendship. Not me."

"Fine," Santana said, shrugging her shoulders, "I called it that, but this was your idea."

Brittany looked away and sighed. This had been her idea and she was starting to regret ever suggesting it. "I..I only suggested it because I really didn't think you'd say yes. And I also didn't think you actually liked me more than just a friend."

Santana wrapped her arms around Brittany's neck and kissed her cheek. "Well, I am saying yes." Having her arms around Brittany and feeling Brittany run her hands up and down her thighs felt so intimate. Santana found herself liking this. So much.

"I've never done this," Brittany said softly.

Santana slowly leaned back. "Done what?"

"This," Brittany said pointing at Santana then herself.

Santana's eyes went wide and she suddenly felt like she was taking advantage of Brittany. Could it be? "Wait, you've never been with a girl?"

Brittany didn't hide her confusion. "What? No. I mean, yes, I've had sex with other girls. I meant, I've never had, like an arrangement for sex. All the guys and girls I've been with, we've been like a couple or dated for a bit."

"How many people?" Santana asked before she could stop herself.

"What does it matter?"

Santana shook her head. "Never mind. Listen, let's just see what happens, OK? I think we'd be amazing together."

"But just amazing at sex?" Brittany asked, wanting to clarify, "Not amazing as a couple?"

Santana inwardly groaned. She was sure dating Brittany would be a disaster. A disaster for Brittany. Thinking back to her two failed relationships, she came to the realization that she was a shitty girlfriend. She'd always forget the little things a good girlfriend was supposed to remember. The food your girlfriend liked, special dates, names of her friends, birthdays, and so on.

She wasn't a good girlfriend. She wasn't romantic. She wasn't as supportive as she should be. Brittany didn't deserve someone like her. Someone so self absorbed. But Santana had to admit that she did want Brittany and to be with her, but she just couldn't take the chance that one day she'd see the disappointment and frustration in Brittany's eyes because of what a crappy girlfriend Santana had been. Or worse, Santana hurting Brittany because she had gotten tired of being with her. She couldn't take that chance. Kurt had been right, Santana wanted her cake and to eat it too.

"We just got out of relationships," Santana tried to explain, "Don't you want a break from that? This could be like a trial run with only the good stuff."

Brittany forced a smile. "I can't."

"What?"

"I know I suggested this, but I can't." Brittany felt like she wanted to cry, but she pushed it down. She didn't want Santana to see her cry. "I've never done this before and I...I don't want to. That's not me."

Santana slowly got up from Brittany's lap and sat on the couch. They sat in silence for a while until Santana finally just uttered "OK."

Brittany got up, needing some space from Santana. "You want some water or something?"

Santana tried to smile and she was pretty sure she was successful, "Sure."

"I'll be right back."

When Brittany was gone, Santana got up and explored the living room. There were boxes everywhere and half of Brittany's stuff was already packed. Santana spotted some figurines of cats and unicorns on Brittany's desk. She picked one up and smiled. Of course, Brittany would have cats and unicorns on her desk. It actually made perfect sense. As she put back a cat, she spotted her own face looking up at her from the trash can near the desk. She bent down and picked up the wadded paper and smoothed it out. It was a picture of her from one her photo shoots for the school magazine. Santana loked back at the wastebasket and saw more pictures of herself. All from press clippings from her time as ULA's Superstar Cheerleader.

"What is this?" Santana asked herself. The more she looked the more it looked like maybe Brittany had had some sort of scrap book about her. Santana wasn't sure if that was sweet or creepy. Brittany did say she had a crush on her, but this was a bit much. Then there were those comments Brittany had made. Like Brittany liking having a souvenir sweatshirt from Santana Lopez. Like Brittany not believing she was making out with Santana Lopez. Did Brittany only like her because of her popularity and status? Brittany had become more popular because of their friendship. Mike, Mila and others had told her as such. Maybe Brittany didn't want to do this arrangement because she had gotten what she wanted. Popularity.

Santana shoved all the clippings back in the wastebasket when she heard Brittany coming back. She quickly moved back to the couch.

"Here you go," Brittany said handing Santana her bottled water.

Santana felt awkward all of a sudden. "Thanks. Umm, so, I think I'm going to go."

"You...you're leaving?" Brittany tried not to feel hurt. She had said no to sleeping with Santana and now she was leaving. It felt like Santana had no use for her now so there was no point in sticking around.

"Yeah," Santana said, quickly glancing at the wastebasket by the desk, "I've...I have a reading of my short stories the day after tomorrow. At school. We have those every month and since the magazine with my short stories was published, I'm reading some excerpts."

"Oh cool! That's awesome."

"It is," Santana said, slowly inching towards the door, "I still haven't even prepared so, umm, I'm going to do that now." Santana smiled at Brittany and opened the front door.

"Wait!"

Santana turned around.

"I bought a couple of the literature magazine," Brittany said, "I'm going to read your stories."

Santana felt a warmth in her chest. "I hope you like them."

"I will," Brittany said with a smile, "Also... are we OK?"

Santana saw the uncertain look on Brittany's face and all she wanted was to reassure her. "We're fine. Everything is fine. I gotta go. I'll call you later."

"OK," Brittany said and watched Santana leave and close the door. She wasn't sure how to feel right now.

Santana walked to her car and thought about all those press clippings. She shook her head. No, she thought, Brittany wasn't like that. Brittany didn't just like her because of her status. She headed straight home. She needed to clear her head.

-**tbc**-

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the wait. I got more hours at work and I don't have as much free time. I'll keep you updated on statuses and stuff on my tumblr or twitter. **

**Having said that, thanks for continuing to read.**


	15. Paula Abdul

When Santana said she'd call her, Brittany thought it would be the next day but apparently what Santana meant was she'd text the day after. It was a short text that simply said Santana had gotten really busy prepping for her reading. Brittany had then waited for another text inviting her to the reading, but one never came.

Brittany had ended up going to David Martinez and asking him where and when this event was. She wanted to go, even if Santana didn't invite her. She had finished both of Santana's stories and, as she expected, she loved them. Santana was an amazing writer and Brittany was sure she'd write a hundred books one day.

Even though Santana had said they were fine, Brittany was starting to think they weren't. She wished she had never suggested that stupid arrangement. It was her fault things were weird now. She had turned Santana down and now Santana didn't want to be around her. Brittany rubbed her eyes, stopping the tears that she felt forming. She didn't want to cry in front of everyone at The Bean while she sat drinking her ice tea. She didn't want to cry thinking about how it was looking like all Santana had wanted from her was practice teaching and sex.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Brittany looked up to see her best friend, looking at her with such concern and love in her eyes, it made Brittany want to cry more.

"Girl, what's the matter?" Mercedes asked again, going to hug Brittany from behind.

"Nothing."

Mercedes let her go and sat in the empty seat in front of her. "Don't even give me that. What is it?"

Brittany took a deep breath and began to tell Mercedes everything. After she finished her story, Mercedes was pissed.

"I'm going to kill Santana!" Mercedes said with such anger Brittany actually believed she'd do it.

"No, don't do that! I don't want you to go to jail! This is my fault. It was my idea."

"So, you change your mind and she cuts you off? Fuck her"

Brittany was shocked at Mercedes' anger. "Mercedes! That's mean. I thought you two were friends."

"We were until she upset you. You come first Britt," Mercedes said, "You know I'll always take you side no matter what."

"She's probably really busy. She does have that reading today, and she probably lost track of time. It's only been a day…and you know, I could have called her."

"Stop," Mercedes said raising her hand, "Don't make excuses for her. Let me talk to her and…"

"NO!" Brittany practically shouted, "Don't. Just leave it, OK? I'll handle this."

"Britt…"

"Please let it go Mercedes," Brittany begged, "Please."

Mercedes looked like she was going to continue to argue, but stopped herself. She crossed her arms and sighed. "Fine."

Brittany let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Well, anyway," Mercedes went on, "Maybe this will cheer you up."

"What?"

"I talked to my parents and they said they'd help me out," Mercedes said with a small smile.

"Help you out with what?"

"Moving. To New York."

Brittany was out of her seat in a flash and hugged Mercedes. "This is amazing!"

Mercedes started laughing and hugged Brittany back, "I know! This is going to be great," She said pulling away, "I heard back from that one studio and I didn't get the job. I knew it was a sign for me to go with you."

Brittany was feeling happier than she had in a while. She went back to her seat unable to stop smiling. "I'm so happy you're coming with me! This is going to be awesome and I bet you find a music job super fast."

"I hope so," Mercedes said with a chuckle, "But now I have so much to do! You're leaving the week after graduation right?"

"Yeah. Holly got me and Quinn tickets. I'll ask her if she can get you one too. She got us first class, super cheap."

"Could you ask her?" Mercedes pleaded, "The more money I can save, the better."

"Holly will totally hook you up," Brittany said, unable to hold her excitement, "I'll go talk to her right after this. This is going to be so great! You, me, Quinn and Holly all together."

"Speaking of Quinn," Mercedes said, "What's happening there?"

"Oh, that," Brittany said, "Well…"

Brittany told Mercedes what had happened with Quinn. Her reaction was the opposite of when she had heard about Santana.

"I told you Britt," Mercedes said, "Quinn is the one that's right for you. She's sweet, cares for you and isn't playing any head games like Santana. Santana's just too opposite of who you are."

"But didn't Paula Abdul say that opposites attract?"

"Yeah they do, but then that fades and you're left with nothing," Mercedes said gently.

Brittany simply nodded and took a sip of her ice tea. Could Paula Abdul be wrong?

"Anyway!" Mercedes said, "Enough about Santana. Let's talk where the hell we're going to live in New York."

Brittany smiled. The only thing that made sense to her these days was New York and she was going to concentrate on that. "My great-aunt said that she has a friend who manages an apartment building in Brooklyn and a unit will open up next month."

"Is Brooklyn far from Manhattan?"

Brittany shrugged her shoulders. "Beats me, but it's a place to live. My great-aunt can get us a good deal. I kinda already told her to say yes but if you want to live somewhere else, we can keep looking."

"No, that's fine," Mercedes said, "As long as we have somewhere to live we can figure all that other stuff later."

"Cool!"

"And Quinn? Where is she living," Mercedes asked.

"Her mom has an apartment in some place named Chelsea or Charlotte or some city that's a girl's name. Mrs. Fabray has a few sushi restaurants in New York too."

"Sweet. This is going to be so much fun," Mercedes said, "Thank you, Britt. For asking me to come with you."

"Don't thank me! You're my best friend, no way I could leave you behind."

"I love you Britt."

"I love you too."

Brittany got up and gathered her things. "I'm going to go talk to Holly now. This is going to be so awesome!"

###

Santana looked over her notes again. She had been sitting in the library for over an hour trying to decide what excerpts of her short stories to read and how she had gone about writing them. She was so nervous. This was so different from all those other times she had spoken at these student lectures. This time she'd be talking about her own work. Not only that, many from the English board would be there too since Santana would be part of that department's faculty come fall.

She had invited all her friends and hoped at least one of them could show up. She was sure Kurt and Sam would be there, they always were. Santana had wanted to send an invite to Brittany but couldn't seem to be able to hit that "Send" button on her phone. It had only been a day and she found she missed her. How is it possible to miss talking or even texting someone for a day, she wondered. Everything with Brittany was so fucked up. She really needed to talk to someone about this, someone other than Kurt. Maybe someone else could shed more light into this.

It wasn't just the whole special friendship mess that had Santana's mind racing, but all those news clippings she had found. Why did Brittany have those clippings and why were they in the trash, she wondered. Suddenly a mental image of Brittany having a secret Santana Lopez shrine in her bedroom flashed in her mind.

"Ugh, stop it Santana," she whispered to herself. She was being silly. She needed to ask Brittany about them and have her explain.

She took one last look at her notes and closed everything up. She couldn't concentrate anymore. She gathered her things and left the library.

###

Brittany was late.

David had told her Santana's reading started at 8 and it was 7:55. She had wanted to get there early to get a good seat, but she had lost track of time finishing up some assignments for her classes and talking to David. Brittany had gotten her second English paper back and she had gotten another "A". Despite everything that happened the other night at her place, she couldn't wait to tell Santana. Now, all she needed was one more passing grade on her last paper and she'd graduate.

Brittany sprinted down the hallway and stopped right at the entrance to the hall. It was the same lecture hall where she had met Santana. Brittany smiled at the memory of Santana catching her falling asleep during Susan's lecture.

She looked on stage and saw the same man she had seen at Susan's lecture introducing the people who were to speak. Brittany scanned the room and spotted an empty chair in the back and it almost felt like it was the exact same spot she had sat in last time. Brittany quietly excused herself as she walked through the row of people and finally sat down.

Up front she spotted Santana sitting to the right of the stage, clutching some notecards. She looked nervous. In the front row, Brittany spotted Kurt, Sam, Tina, Sugar and Puck. When Brittany didn't get an invitation to the reading, she had thought that maybe Santana didn't want anyone she knew there because it'd make her more nervous. But seeing that all of Santana's friends were sitting in the front row just made it painfully obvious that Santana just didn't want her there.

Brittany wished she hadn't come, but it was too late. She was too far down the aisle to get up and leave without anyone noticing. She just hoped Santana didn't spot her.

"….and finally," the man on stage said, "I'm thrilled to have our top English student, Santana Lopez, speak today. Ms. Lopez just had two short stories published in the prestigious American Literature Review and she will be the English department's new assistant this fall."

Santana smiled proudly for the crowd. Cheers and loud claps erupted, mainly from the front row and it made Santana smile even more. She looked at the front row and was actually surprised and glad that everyone had shown up. Well, almost everyone. Brittany wasn't here, but that was her own fault.

The lecture began with Will Schuester discussing his favorite Edgar Allen Poe stories. After Will, two other people got up. Brittany was so bored. She wanted to hear Santana talk not all these other people. She leaned her head against the wall and tried desperately not to fall asleep.

About half an hour into the lecture, it was Santana's turn. She got up to the podium and waited for the applause to die down before she began. "Thank you. Thank you." Santana said, "I'm honored to be asked…" Santana lost her train of thought when she spotted Brittany in the back row with her head resting against the wall, her eyes closed. She looked like she was asleep. Santana smiled, "Umm…asked to speak here tonight. My name is Santana Lopez…"

Brittany quickly opened her eyes and sat up when she thought she heard Santana. She blinked a few times to clear her vision and looked up on stage to see Santana looking straight at her, with a really amused look on her face. All Brittany could do was smile back and wave.

Santana had to force herself not to wave back but she couldn't force herself to not smile. She cleared her throat and composed herself and continued her lecture.

Brittany listened to Santana talk about her writing and her stories. It was so interesting to hear and there was no way Brittany could ever fall asleep listening to one of Santana's lectures. Every once in a while, Santana would glance at her and it seemed like she was talking just to Brittany. Santana ended up talking for over 20 minutes and when she was done, the room filled with applause.

The host of the lecture got up and thanked the crowed for coming. "And that concludes the last lecture of the school year. We hope to see you next fall."

The room was soon alive with people talking and getting up. Santana found herself surrounded by all her friends congratulating her on a job well done. She tries to talk to all of them but she keep looking behind them to see if she spotted Brittany coming up to the front. She scanned the room a few times and Brittany was nowhere to be found. When the room was half empty, it was clear that Brittany had already left.

"You OK?" Tina asked.

"Umm, yeah, yeah," Santana said trying not to let the heavy disappointment she felt in her chest show, "I'm great."

Brittany got to her car quicker than she thought. She had wanted to go up to Santana to congratulate her but when she saw all of Santana's friends surround her, all her invited friends, she just felt like she needed to get out of there. She needed to get home anyway, to do more packing. Time was running out.

###

It was almost 10 and all Brittany wanted to do was go to sleep but she had made such a mess in her living room she wanted to clean up first. She walked all through the room shoving trash into the large garbage bag in her hand. She finally ended up back at her desk and picked up the wastebasket and that's when she noticed a big picture of Santana staring back at her, crumpled and torn.

Brittany's eyes went wide. Had Santana seen this? She didn't think Santana would go around looking into her trash but the picture was right at the top. Brittany looked at her desk and noticed one of her cat figurines was facing the wrong direction.

"Oh shit," Brittany said, mortified. She knew she should have emptied this wastebasket sooner.

There was a knock at her door. There were really only two people she would expect this late. She dropped the garbage bag and went to open the door. It was neither Mercedes nor Quinn.

"Hey Britt," Santana said, nervously clutching the straps of her purse, "I'm sorry, I know it's late…"

"Oh no!" Brittany said shaking herself out of her surprised state, "Hi."

"Hi," Santana said again with a smile. When Brittany didn't move Santana asked to come in.

"Shit, sorry," Brittany said stepping aside, "Come in. Sorry for the mess."

"It's OK, Brittany," Santana said with a chuckle, "I saw it the other night."

"Right," Brittany said softly closing the door.

Like the other night, Santana went to sit on the couch and Brittany quickly joined her. Neither said anything for a few moments.

"Why did you leave?" Santana finally asked.

"I..I didn't want to bother you," Brittany said looking at her hands.

"Bother me?" Santana asked, incredulous, "Brittany you could never bother me."

"I didn't want to impose since I wasn't invited," Brittany said looking at Santana, "I know it was a public thing, but it looked like you invited all the people you wanted there and since I wasn't one of them, I just figured I'd leave."

Santana felt like an asshole. "I'm sorry. I wanted you there. I did. I even typed out a whole text inviting you." Santana reached for her phone and pulled up the screen with her latest saved text draft and showed it to Brittany. "See."

Brittany couldn't help but smile looking at the text. Santana had intended to invite her. "Why didn't you send it?"

"I just," Santana began putting her phone away, "After the other night…things felt weird."

"It's my fault," Brittany said.

"No, it's mine," Santana said, "I shouldn't have left like that. I was thinking about that earlier and, shit, it must have looked like I left because we weren't going to sleep together."

"That's what I thought," Brittany admitted, "I thought you had no use for me, so you left. Then you never called me and I just figured you didn't want to be my friend anymore."

Santana felt like she couldn't do anything right with Brittany lately. It was so frustrating and maddening. "Listen to me Brittany. I love being your friend. I really do and I'm not going to stop being your friend just because we..uh, we aren't going to have that Special Friendship. I left because, because…I saw..."

Brittany took a deep breath, "You saw it, didn't you? In the trash can?"

Santana nodded slowly. She looked over at the wastebasket and saw it empty. "What was that about? Did you, like have a scrapbook about me or something?"

Brittany buried her face in her hands and let out an embarrassed groan.

"You said you liked me for two years…did you collect stuff about me all that time?"

"Yumph." Brittany mumbled into her hands.

"What?"

Brittany forced herself to look up and at Santana. "Yes. I saved a few pictures of you. I just…I liked looking at your picture."

"So you didn't have like a creepy shrine to me with candles and stuff in some dark room?" Santana asked, seriously. "You're not trying to get popular by hanging out with me?"

Brittany chuckled. "Oh God no! I'm not like some stalker. I just saved some news stories and pictures. That's it. And the last thing I want is to be popular."

"I thought," Santana said, shaking her head, "I thought you were maybe using my status to be more popular."

"Umm, don't you think if I was doing that, I would have talked to you sooner? I mean what's the point it trying to get popular a couple of months before leaving the school?"

Santana breathed out a small laugh. "You're right. That doesn't make sense. And I'm glad to hear you don't have a shrine of me." The smile on her face faded before she asked her next question. "Why did you throw them away?"

Brittany looked away. "Honestly, Quinn found them in my bookcase when she was helping me pack. And I threw them away because I didn't need them anymore. I was hanging out with the real Santana."

The mental image of Quinn finding all those pictures of her made Santana smirk. She almost wished she could have seen the film assistant's face. Santana took out her phone again and hit the camera icon on her screen. "Come here."

Brittany didn't move. She saw Santana scoot closer to her and soon they were cheek to cheek. Brittany wasn't sure why she tensed when Santana got close, since they had gotten a lot closer than check to check the other night. Brittany saw Santana extend her arm as far as she could reach, her phone aimed at them.

"Smile," Santana said and snapped a picture. She moved back and looked at the image and smiled. She and Brittany both had the biggest smiles on their faces. Just looking at the pictures, it didn't seem possible for there to be any problems between them.

"We look cute," Brittany said with a slight blush.

Santana smiled and tuned her attention to the screen. "There. I sent it to you too. You don't have to collect pictures from magazines anymore. I'll take one for you."

Brittany looked at Santana who was still really close to her. There was that intensity in her eyes Brittany seemed to be drawn to no matter how much she tried not to be.

Santana locked eyes with Brittany and couldn't pull away. She dropped her phone on her lap and lifted her hand to caress Brittany's cheek. Images of them kissing filling her mind. She felt herself leaning closer and closed her eyes when her lips touched Brittany's.

Brittany knew what was going to happen but it wasn't until she felt the light pressure of Santana's lips on her own that she pulled back. "Santana, don't."

Santana quickly put some space between them. "Sorry. I…it's like all I want to do is kiss you."

Brittany took in a sharp breath. Hearing Santana say those words was something she'd always wanted to hear. "If it's just sex, why don't you just sleep with some other girl?"

Santana was at a loss for words. Her breathing seemed to have gotten a little faster. "What?"

"You only want sex and not a relationship," Brittany said softly, "You could get that from anyone. There are a bunch of girls on campus who'd love to sleep with you."

Santana got up fast and began to pace in front of Brittany. She felt offended. "Are you serious? You think…you think I just want to use you as some sex doll?"

"Umm, yeah. I mean, last night you had barely been here five minutes and you were already on top of me."

"I…I…," Santana stammered as she continued to pace, "It's not…I don't see you that way Brittany."

"Sure feels like it."

Santana felt like she was standing naked in front of a thousand people. She tried to calm her breathing. "It's just that, I think that if we just sleep together first, things will be easier. It'll be easier to sort out our feelings."

Brittany looked at Santana in utter disbelief. "That's crazy. That makes no sense. I don't sleep with someone to sort out my feelings. I date them to do that. Then sleep with them, when feelings are sorted out. It's better with feelings already there."

Santana stopped moving. "It's never like that," Santana said, "Feelings, if any at all, come after you sleep with someone."

"Before!"

"After!"

"And if you sleep with them and no feelings happen, then what?" Brittany asked, her voice sounding a little angry.

"Then at least you got sex out of it." As soon as those words left Santana's mouth, she wished she could take them back.

"Wow." Brittany said slowly.

"Wait.."

"So you want to use sex to see if you like me enough to date me?" Brittany asked, now more than a little angry. "It's perfect, right? Sex for a few weeks then when you find out you don't have real feelings for me and it's fine because I'll be leaving?"

"No, no," Santana said shaking her head, "That's not what…Fuck! I like you Brittany. I want you. I'm not going to pretend I don't but we can't have some serious relationship."

Brittany took a breath not wanting to cry. "Sorry if I'm not good enough to be Santana Lopez's girlfriend!"

"You? Not you. Me! I'm not a good girlfriend. Me! I have no doubt you are an amazing girlfriend and Jesse was a lucky guy to have you. But with my track record, you're best off not getting involved with me like that."

"Oh so this whole not wanting to date is to protect me?" Brittany asked unable to stop the small bitter laugh that escaped her.

"Exactly!"

"And at least you'll get sex out of it," Brittany said sarcastically.

"Right… I mean no. Shit!" Santana closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She knew she was losing control of this conversations. "I told you, I like you. More than a friend, a lot more. I do love our friendship and that's what's fucking me up here. You can't be friends with someone you date. It's either friends or lovers. Not both."

Brittany looked at Santana like she had grown two heads. Of course you could be friends with someone you date. She had been friends with Jesse and the three other people she had been with. "Yes, you can."

"No, you can't! This isn't one of those cheesy romantic movies, it's real life. And in real life, it's either friends or girlfriends. And I don't want to lose your friendship but I also can't stop wanting to kiss you. This arrangement would work because we could be together for a little while before you realize …"

Santana stopped talking. She hadn't meant to say as much as she did and had no idea where it was coming from.

Brittany waited for Santana to finish talking, but after a moment of silence, Brittany tried to encourage her to go on. "Santana…"

Shit, Santana thought. She felt like an idiot. "You know what? Forget it. Forget this Special Friendship, forget me wanting to sleep with you, let's hit this reset button now, OK?"

"Before I realize what?"

Santana grabbed her bag and stood her ground. "I'm hitting the rest button, OK?"

"Santana…."

"OK?" Santana's voice was firm.

Brittany looked at the determined look on Santana's face and knew she wouldn't budge. "OK."

"Good," Santana said going to the door. "I'll talk to you later."

"Santana."

"What?"

Brittany smiled. "I got my English paper back. I got another 'A'."

Santana was almost knocked back by how proud she felt of Brittany. "I told you, you would."

"One more," Brittany said with a smile, "One more paper with a good grade and I graduate."

"You'll graduate, Britt," Santana said, "I promise you that."

Brittany nodded. She didn't try to speak because she felt the burning behind her eyes and knew she'd start crying if she talked.

"Good night Brittany." Santana said opening the door.

"Good night Santana," Brittany said, her voice a little shaky, "Oh, Santana…"

"Yeah?"

"You were really good in that lecture. I read your stories. Twice. They were so good."

Santana swallowed the lump in her throat. Hearing Brittany's words meant more than she expected. "Thanks."

Santana left and Brittany was left to think about what Santana had said.

###

The days that followed where unexpectedly busy. Or expectedly, since finals upon the student body and graduation just around the corner. Santana had had her nose buried in many books for the last two weeks trying to finish up all her papers, projects and studying for finals. It seemed endless. Santana loved school work, but this time around, it just seemed endless.

It wasn't just her. Everyone seemed to be busy. She had hardly seen any of her friends and she hadn't even gone out at all. The only fun thing to look forward to was Rachel's and Sugar's graduation party next weekend. They decided to have it right after finals. Rachel and Sugar would not stop talking about it and Santana wasn't surprised when she saw that the two most talkative and annoying people she knew had become closer friends. Santana just had to make sure she never hung out with both of them at the same time.

The one person she had wanted to hang out with was the one person she hadn't seen in weeks. Brittany had been just as busy with all her classes, film projects and the move. Santana groaned thinking back to that night at Brittany's apartment. It seemed so long ago, but at the same it was so fresh in her mind it could have very well have happened yesterday. She felt like she had screwed up by being so stubborn about doing that whole Special Friendship thing. Of course Brittany wasn't like that. When Santana had told Kurt what had happened, he wasn't shy about gloating her had been right.

"I told you so," he had said, "Brittany isn't like those other girls."

"Fine, you were right." Santana had rolled her eyes. "It doesn't matter anyway. We reset our relationship and we're just going to go back to they way it was before. Just friends."

"If you say so." Kurt wasn't convinced at all.

Santana and Brittany had texted and called each other every now and then, but something was different. Maybe not seeing Brittany was a good thing and it would help in making this strange vibe between them go away. But at the same time, Brittany was leaving soon and there would be no chance of seeing her at all until after the summer. Or unless Santana went to visit her like they planned.

She picked up her phone and sent Brittany a text.

_Hey. So I know you told me you picked out a final book but we haven't met to talk about it. Want to do that today? - SL_

School work. That was a nice safe topic.

_I was just going to call you! Yeah, I can meet today. The usual place? - BP_

Just seeing Brittany's text made her smile.

_Done. 1? - SL_

_I'll be there - BP_

###

Brittany parked her car and walked to The Bean. She was actually excited to see Santana. It had been way too long since that night at her apartment when she'd seen Santana in person. She missed her friend.

Maybe this reset thing worked and they could go back to they way they were before they kissed. Maybe. Maybe not. Just like she had told Santana that she couldn't flip a switch and stop liking Quinn, Brittany couldn't do the same with Santana. Maybe there would always be a part of her that would have a crush on Santana Lopez, and she just had to accept that.

But they were friends again. Regular friends. She thought back to Santana telling her that you couldn't be friends with someone you dated. Was it true? Thinking back to all her past relationship, all of them had started out as some kind of friendship and all had ended with the two of them still being friends.

Brittany still emailed Monica, her first girlfriend, to catch up. She still interacted with Ricky, her first boyfriend, on Facebook a lot. She called Natalia, her second girlfriend, the other day just to talk. And she hung out with Jesse just two days ago. All past lovers, all now good friends.

Was that why her relationships didn't last? Because she had been friends with all of them? What about Quinn? If she started dating Quinn would that end the same? And then there was Santana. They were friends too, so how would that turn out?

Brittany entered the coffee shop and spotted Santana sitting at their usual table, her eyes glued to her phone. Seeing Santana, it really hit Brittany hard just how much she had missed her and for a moment Brittany thought about giving in to the whole arrangement thing. But just for a moment.

Brittany walked quietly to her tutor, stood behind her and shouted. "HEY!"

Santana had been so focused on reading her emails that when Brittany shouted behind her she was sure she jumped a foot in the air from her seat. "JESUS CHRIST!"

Brittany pumped her fist int he air and laughed. "Finally got you back!"

"FUCK!" Santana shouted, getting the attention of those around her. She clutched her chest like she was having a heart attack. "Damn it! You scared the crap out of me!"

"Then my life is complete," Brittany said with a giggle.

Santana's fright turned to a smile when she saw a giggling Brittany go to sit in front of her. Only Brittany made her feel this playful and giddy. "That was mean."

"Nope, that was payback," Brittany said, putting her books on the table.

Santana tried to calm her rapidly beating heart from the scare and maybe a little from seeing Brittany again. "I've missed you."

And just like that, Brittany felt herself blush. "I've missed you too." Seeing Santana again, it was like they had just seen each other last night. It didn't feel like two weeks. Talking on the phone just wasn't the same. "So, umm, I picked out my book for my final paper and even wrote seven pages already."

"Really? That's amazing." Santana would never get tired of feeling proud of Brittany. "What book?"

"'The Scarlet Letter'," Brittany said in a dramatic voice, "It's like a soap opera."

"Kind of," Santana said with a chuckle. "How've you been?"

"Super busy," Brittany said, "It's like all I'm doing is studying and reading. I hate it! Then I'm like, packing all the time. I never knew I had so much crap. And I even hurt my shoulder lifting boxes."

"I could help, if you need…uh, well help," Santana said. She had hoped that after the whole reset button thing and not seeing Brittany for a few days would help in getting things back to they were pre-kiss, but seeing Brittany across from her now, all Santana wanted to do was kiss her again.

"Thanks but I'm almost done." Brittany took out her seven written pages and placed them on top of her books, "Jesse came over the other day and helped me with most of it."

"Ex-boyfriend Jesse?" Santana asked, not liking that news.

"Yup. I told you, we stayed friends, remember?"

"Right," Santana said pursing her lips, "You're a big believer in friendships with boyfriends. And girlfriends too I bet."

Brittany let out a huff of air. Santana's tone wasn't mean or anything, but she really didn't want to get into that subject again. She handed Santana her pages. "This is what I wrote."

Santana took the papers and began to read and was a little surprised at how good they were. Brittany had gotten better and better with each paper. "This is great."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you've organized everything very well. If you keep writing this way, your final pages will be just as good."

Brittany felt so proud of herself. It was a new feeling. She never really gave herself too much credit for her work, but this was different. She had gone from not being able to write more than two pages to writing real college English papers. "It's because of you."

"Hmm?" Santana looked up form the paper.

"It's because of you I can write a paper now. Like I said, you are going to be an amazing teacher, Santana. And I bet you that you'll be everyone favorite."

Santana both loved and hated that Brittany could make her feel like she could be the best teacher ever. It was a tingly warm feeling that traveled from her toes to the top of her head. It was awful and amazing all at once. "Thanks. Umm, let's get started on your last pages."

Brittany smiled at the blush on Santana's cheeks and was happy that her tutoring session had started. By the time it was over Brittany had a great outline for her final pages.

"I owe you big time Santana," Brittany said, "I'll never be able to repay you for this, for helping me graduate."

"Hey, you already said you'd dedicate your first movie to me," Santana teased.

"That still doesn't seem like enough."

Neither spoke for what seemed like an eternity but when Santana saw Quinn approaching their table she can't help but roll her eyes and let out an audible, "Great."

"Hey ladies!" Quinn said, sounding way too chipper for Santana's liking. The way Brittany's face lit up at seeing Quinn just made things worse.

Brittany hadn't seen much of Quinn these days either. Holly had been keeping Quinn busy organizing paperwork and in the video vault. In a way, Brittany had liked being away from both Santana and Quinn for a while. It gave her a chance to concentrate on other things and put her conflicting feelings for both women aside. "Hi!"

"Quinn." Santana said with a forced smile.

"Lesson over?" Quinn asked, standing right next to Brittany.

Santana's fake smile never left her face. Seeing Quinn look so…happy was really the most annoying thing Santana had ever seen. She had to force herself to relax her hand and undo the fist she had unintentionally made.

"All done!" Brittany gathered her things. "You didn't come just to pick me up did you?"

"I wish I could say yes," Quinn said with a shy smile, "But I'm on a coffee run. Holly and I are knee deep in final projects. She asked me to help grade some of her student's short movies."

"That's awesome!" Brittany said, "Hey, if you come across my cat movie, make sure to give me an 'A'. But only if I deserve it."

"I'm sure you do," Quinn said with a wink.

Santana watched the two of them and felt her face contort in disgust. Something was different between them and Santana didn't like it. Quinn was still annoying with her fawning all over Brittany, but now Brittany seemed to be more interested in Quinn than before.

What is going on, Santana wondered. Her face was hurting from keeping the smile on her face. Quinn had no shot with Brittany. How could she when Brittany had been collecting pictures of Santana for two years, had kissed her with such passion and had told her she wanted to date her. Well, sort of told her. No way, Santana thought, Brittany liked me first.

"Are you OK Santana?" Brittany asked, her voice really concerned. "Was your ice coffee that bad?" While Quinn had started talking about some of the final projects she had seen, Brittany had glanced at Santana and saw that she had the creepiest smile on her face. It was like the Cheshire Cat or something. But she also just looked like she got food poisoning.

"Fine," Santana said, toning down her smile.

"Are you sure?" Brittany wasn't convinced. "Do you want me to get you some ginger ale or something?"

Santana relaxed her face and her whole body. "I'm fine, Britt, but thanks."

"OK." Brittany got up. "I'm going to get an ice tea. Quinn, what were you getting, I can just get it all together."

"Oh, great. Umm, soy latte for me and Holly wants a double chocolate frap."

"Be right back," Brittany said and left.

Santana was now alone with her least favorite person. "So, coffee runs? I'm sure that'll really help with making movies."

Quinn just smiled at Santana and sat across from her. She folded her hands the table. "You don't like me, do you?"

"I don't know you well enough to dislike you. Or like you." Santana said shrugging her shoulders.

"It's pretty obvious you don't. And the only the only thing, I can think of, that would make you not like me, is Brittany."

Santana just raised her eyebrow.

"Brittany's our friend," Quinn said, "We should like each other. For her sake."

Santana smirked. "But you want her to be more than your friend. So she tells me."

"Yeah," Quinn readily admitted, "I like her and want to date her. Brittany's a great girl. Sweet, funny, beautiful and I just…I'm just really glad she's not your type."

Santana felt like someone was poking her stomach with tiny, sharp spikes. "What?" She was trying her best to unclench her jaw. Quinn's tone was so casual and even a little shy, Santana wasn't sure what to make of any of this.

"Brittany told me you don't want to date her. I know she had this crush on you but she doesn't anymore. So, you don't have to feel weird around her."

"She…she told you?" Santana asked, trying to keep her rapidly beating heart from jumping out of her chest. "Well, I guess after finding those pictures of me in her bookcase, you must have figured about the crush." Trying to get the upper hand again.

Quinn's small smile faltered. "That was from a long time ago."

"Not that long," Santana said with narrowed eyes, "So, she told you what's been happening?"

Quinn nodded.

Santana swallowed and felt her throat really dry. She wasn't sure why she felt like she had been betrayed or something. It was silly because she had told Kurt everything that had happened, but the fact that Brittany talked to Quinn about their situation just made her mad. I wonder how much Brittany told her, she wondered.

Brittany carefully balanced the drink tray in her hands and returned to the table. She noticed the look on Santana's face and didn't like it. Maybe she really was feeling sick. "Santana, maybe you should go to the Health Center, you don't look so great."

Santana picked up her bag and got up. "I have to go. I have so much to do today. I'll see you later."

Before Brittany could say anything back, Santana was already halfway to the exit. Brittany turned to Quinn. "What happened?"

"No idea," Quinn said taking the tray, "Come on. Let's walk back to the film department."

Brittany nodded. Something was wrong with Santana and it made Brittany feel uneasy.

###

Going to a party next door had its advantages. It meant more time to get ready, and if Santana wanted to, she could get drunk and not have to worry about driving. Looking in her closet, Santana found the dress she was looking for. It was a black, form fitting dress with a wide strap draping her left shoulder, while leaving her right one exposed. Santana wasn't kidding herself, anymore. She was dressing for Brittany and prove Quinn wrong. Brittany still had a crush on her. More than a crush.

The week had passed pretty quickly. Finals and graduation prep took up all her time but now that was over. Now, she could relax and party with her friends.

Satisfied with her choice, she went out the door and walked the short distance to Rachel's house. Fashionably late, of course.

The music was loud. There were already a lot of people there and a few of them were clearly drunk. As soon as she walked in, she was greeted by Rachel.

"Hello Santana!"

"Hello Rachel," Santana said trying not to let her annoyance show.

"Welcome to my party! It's a hit! Everyone showed up! Do you want a drink?" Rachel yelled.

"It's OK. I'll get myself a drink," Santana yelled back.

"Fine. But let me know if I can be of any assistance!" And with that Rachel disappeared into the dancing crowed.

Santana scanned the room and spotted Sugar and Puck in a corner holding a tray of what Santana thought were brownies. She went over for a closer look.

"Hey guys," Santana said smiling as she reached her friends.

"Santana!" Sugar yelled, "Wow, look at you! You look H-O-T!"

"Yeah," Puck chimed in, "You look fucking sexy."

"Thank you," Santana said with a smile, "What are you guys eating."

Santana saw Sugar and Puck give each other a mischievous look.

"Brownies," Sugar said almost bursting out into a fit a laughter, "Here have one."

"No thanks, I'm not in the mood for sweets," Santana said.

"Come on! It's a fucking party Santana," Puck said clearly already drunk. "Eat one."

"Eat it!" Sugar said forcefully.

"Alright. Alright." Santana said taking a brownie and taking a big bite, "Mmmm. Wow, these are good. Where did you get them?"

"Puck made them," Sugar said, still trying to control her laughter.

"Puck. Mmmm. These are great," Santana said finishing the brownie and taking another.

"Now," Sugar said, "Let's get you a drink!"

Santana surprised herself at how fast she finished her second brownie. She felt relaxed. She felt really, really good. She felt...she needed to find Brittany. She followed Sugar to the makeshift bar and waited for Sugar to make her a Margarita. Santana scanned the room looking for Brittany. She saw Finn, that idiot giant who thought he was smart enough to tutor. And Kurt dancing with Mercedes. If Mercedes is here, Santana thought, then Brittany must be here too. Santana was expecting anxiety to build up at the thought of running into Brittany, but she felt calm. Oddly calm and a little giddy.

"Here," Sugar said giving Santana her drink, "Cheers!"

Santana and Sugar toasted and drowned their drinks.

"WOW!" Santana grimaced, "I think there's more tequila than Margarita in this."

"WAHOO!" Sugar screamed. "PARTY! Here have a refill!"

Without thinking, Santana put her glass out and allowed Sugar to fill it up. In three gulps, Santana finished her second Margarita.

The music seemed to get louder and more people started to dance. Santana moved out of the way and left Sugar in the bar. She needed to find Brittany.

Santana searched all over Rachel's house but couldn't find her. She ended up back to where Puck had left the tray of brownies. She grabbed another and ate it.

"Whoa!" She said. She felt a tap on her shoulder so she turned around.

"Have you seen Brittany?" Quinn asked, sounding drunk already. "Oh Santana! It's you. Isn't this party is fantastic?"

"Quinn!" Santana said happily and leaned forward and gave her a big hug, which was weird because she hated Quinn, "I'm so, so happy to see you!" As soon as those words were out of her mouth, she started laughing. It was a big fat lie. She wasn't happy to see Quinn at all. Santana was so giddy she couldn't help but smile. She felt like jumping up and down, like jumping in the pool with all her clothes on.

"Uh oh," Quinn said, "Someone is drunk already! Or actually, let me see...did you have some of Puck's brownies?"

"OH MY GOD!," Santana said yelling, "Those were soooo good. QUINN? WHY AM I YELLING?"

Quinn burst into a fit of laughter causing Santana to also burst out laughing. Just as she thought she was going to pee herself from laughing, she spotted Mercedes again and soon calmed down.

"Quinn," Santana pulled Quinn towards her and spoke in her ear, "Mercedes is here. But I don't see Brittany. Have you seen her? I searched all over and can't find her."

"Brittany's here," Quinn said taking another drink. She swayed a little. "I'm looking for her too! I actually came with Mike cause Brittany had to get her paper back and…she….she and I are going to have so much fun in New York."

Santana wanted to get angry, but somehow couldn't. "No you're not! She…she has a crush on me!" She pointed to herself. "Not you!" She pointed to Quinn.

"Too bad…I'll be with her and you won't. And she's sooooo over you!" Quinn finished off the last of her Martini.

"Are you drinking a Martini? Do you think you're James 'Fucking' Bond or something?" Santana said, bursting int a fit of giggles. "And just so you know, I'm gonna be visiting her!"

Quinn laughed heartily. "Out of sight, out of mind Ms. Cheerleader. Brittany will be with me and we're going to be super busy living in New York."

Santana was now super aware she was drunk or high or both because had she been sober, she was sure she would have shoved Quinn to the ground instead of giggling like some little kid. "You're going to get ….she's not going to choose you."

Quinn crossed her arms. "Wha..what do you care? You don't even want to date her."

Santana mimicked Quinn's stance. "Maybe I do." Yes, she was drunk-high or whatever, and wanted to beat Quinn at whatever game this was, but hearing herself say she wanted to date Brittany made her feel happy. But she couldn't be sure if that was the brownies or if it was really what she wanted.

"Brittany doesn't want you!" Quinn said, leaning forward.

"Let's ask her." Santana said, closing the gap so much that she was nose to nose with Quinn.

"We have to find her."

"The kitchen! I totally forgot this house had a kitchen," Santana yelled stepping back, "Maybe she's there!"

Before Quinn could answer, she grabbed Quinn by the hand and dragged her to the kitchen. There she spotted Brittany talking to Mike. Brittany was wearing a blue dress, a color Santana knew would match perfectly with her eyes, that fit her body a little lose, but still accentuated her curves.

"She's so beautiful," Santana told Quinn.

"I know," Quinn said, "Come on, let's go say Hi!"

Brittany was in the middle of telling Mike about Mercedes moving to New York with her, when out of the corner of her eye she spotted Quinn and Santana stumbling towards her rather quickly. If she hadn't been shocked at seeing them hanging out together, she probably would have laughed at how drunk they both looked. She braced herself against the kitchen counter because it looked like they were going run into her, head on. She was glad to see them. Both of them.

"Brittany!" Quinn yelled, her voice betraying just how much she'd had to drink."I'd lick you to me…to talk to us."

"Huh?" Brittany had no idea what Quinn meant.

"Haha! Did I say 'lick'?"

"You have…you have to pick," Santana managed to say.

"Dude!" Mike said, "You guys are wasted." He turned to Brittany, "I guess this is all you. I'm going to go find Rachel."

"Maybe you guys should slow down on the drinks," Brittany said, sort of wishing Mike hadn't left.

"What?" Quinn asked, "It's a party! I'm going to go get another drink cause…I'm really thirsty. Don't leave!" Quinn looked at Brittany, blew her an air kiss and walked away.

Brittany couldn't help but chuckle at Quinn's cute gesture. She watched her walk away and when she lost Quinn in the crowd, Brittany turned her attention to Santana who was watching her through narrowed eyes.

"You really do like her, huh?" Santana hated how quiet her voice had gotten but seeing how Brittany had looked at Quinn had killed her good mood.

Brittany smiled at Santana and decided to ignore her question. "You're drunk. But since I'm still sort of sober and we're not in a secret room, we're OK."

Santana tried not to smile. It was impossible. "I'm sure there are plenty of secret rooms in this place." To her joy, Brittany smiled too and looked at her with playful amusement.

"Your high and drunk," Brittany teased.

"What? Noooo. No. Not even. Could be. Sort of. Maybe. Yeah. I think so. Yes." Santana said slurring slightly.

Brittany laughed and Santana suddenly realized she loved her laugh. How have I not noticed that before, she thought.

"Did you have some of Puck's brownies?" Brittany asked.

"I, might have. Yes." Santana said stepping closer to Brittany. "But I thought they were regular brownies. Though, now that I think of it, I should have known something was up cause who brings fucking brownies to a grown-ups party?"

Brittany laughed again. Drunk and high Santana was just adorable. Her eyes were so big and dark and Brittany couldn't look away. Even now, that intensity in them was there and Brittany hated that in about two weeks she wouldn't see them up close anymore.

Suddenly, Brittany grabbed Santana's hand and lead her outside to the garage. She wanted to talk to Santana about what was going on with them even though she knew Santana wasn't entirely all there. But, Brittany figured she might get more honest answers from a drunk and high Santana than she would from a sober one.

Santana felt like her head head was spinning. The brownies, the Margaritas and Brittany's touch were an assault on her senses. Once inside the empty garage, Brittany closed the door and faced Santana. Santana to her credit, tried her best to concentrate on Brittany, but she was having some difficulty.

"Brittany, you know that feeling when you're awake but it feels like you're dreaming?" Santana asked seriously.

"Yeah," Brittany said with a smile.

"Are you feeling that? Cause I am. So weird."

Brittany had her back against the door, her hands behind her. "I'm not feeling it," Brittany said. She was really enjoying watching Santana like this. She wondered if this is what she was like when she had been the drunk one at the club.

Santana was still feeling warm and giddy. He smile returned as she looked at the girl in front of her. "Br…." Santana began as she stepped closer. "Are you drunk?"

"No," Brittany said softly.

Santana continued to close in on Brittany and soon she was close enough to smell her hair. "Mmmm," Santana said closing her eyes. She leaned down a little and placed her forehead on Brittany's. "You have the best smelling hair, ever."

"Do I?" Brittany asked, swallowing down her nerves. She was sure he heart had started beating way too fast. She still had her hands behind her back, needing something to hold on to.

"Mmm hmmm," Santana said and moved her head so that her mouth was on Brittany's temple where she placed small kiss. Santana opened her eyes and noticed Brittany had hers closed. "You look so pretty. And hot. Did you dress up for me?"

"Uh..." was all Brittany managed to say. She finally managed to really take a look at what Santana was wearing and she looked utterly gorgeous. She moved her head up a bit and now Santana's mouth was on her check. She felt Santana place a kiss on her already hot skin.

"I dressed for you," Santana whispered, "Do you like it?"

"Ye...yes, " Brittany said and felt Santana slightly lift her arms and placed each one on Brittany's hips. Brittany continued to keep her hands behind her back, one hand gripping the doorknob.

"Did you get your paper back? I bet you got another 'A'." Santana's voice was filled with desire. She kissed Brittany's cheek again and moved her mouth up to her forehead again, and to the other side of her face, kissing Brittany all along the way.

Brittany needed to stop this, but felt frozen in place. She took in a shaky breath hoping that would calm the tingly feelings she was having in the pit of her stomach. "I did. I got an 'A' again. I'm graduating."

Santana pulled back to look at Brittany, a big grin on her face. "I fucking knew it! I told you." She lunged forward and brought her in for a tight hug. "Congratulations!"

Brittany let out a small chuckle and hugged Santana back. "Thank you. I couldn't have done it without you."

"Yes, you could have," Santana said. She was feeling so out of it, but she was trying really hard to concentrate on what Brittany was saying. "You're a lot smarter than you…than you think."

Brittany took in a shaky breath. Hearing the pride in Santana's voice almost made her cry. Santana really did make her feel like she could accomplish anything and she loved that feeling. "Thanks. Umm, we should get you back to the part."

Santana smirked and tightened her hold around Brittany's waist. "But we're in a secret room…" Santana continued kissing Brittany's face, where she left off.

"I know and that's why we should go," Brittany said, her voice soft. She moved her head trying to stop Santana from leaving a trail of kisses all over her face but it didn't work and Santana continued her assault.

Santana's breathing started to get a little heavy. She wanted to kiss every part of Brittany's face, and she did, all except her mouth. She wanted to tease Brittany, to make her want Santana to kiss her. She moved her right hand down Brittany's hip to her thigh, causing Brittany to gasp.

"I want you," Santana said feeling dizzy.

"Santana..." Brittany said trying to keep her eyes open, "We, we were doing good. Being friends."

"We can still be friends," Santana said rubbing her nose with Brittany's, "Friends who cuddle. Friends who kiss. Friends who have hot sex."

"I...I can't Santana," Brittany said but made no effort to pull away.

"Why?" Santana asked, "You'll see. After we sleep together, you'll see that you should pick me and that whatever you feel for Quinn is just silly."

Brittany snapped out of whatever trance Santana had put her in and pushed her back a bit. "What?"

Santana rolled her eyes. "Quinn doesn't matter. You liked me first…so she doesn't…doesn't count."

"She does matter," Brittany said, upset, "Don't tell me my feelings are silly."

Santana pulled away to look at Brittany. She raised her hands and placed one on each side of her face, forcing Brittany to look at her.

"You're going to pick me," Santana said as she caressed Brittany's cheek with her thumb. "We'll be so good together and you'll see that…that I'm way better."

Brittany closed her eyes again and let out a breath. Santana felt a chill down her spine at the feeling of Brittany's hot breath on her skin.

"You can't tell me what to do, Santana," Brittany said.

"I'm not. I'm just telling you what you don't want to admit. Quinn isn't good for you. You want to be with me. You always have." Santana said trying not to slur her words. Everything she was saying made perfect sense in her head and she wasn't sure why Brittany was looking upset. "If you want, I'll wait right here while you go in the house and break up with her. Or pre-break up with her."

"No, Santana," Brittany said as Santana took her hand off Brittany's face and stepped back.

"Do you still like me?" Santana asked, "And I don't mean like a friend. So you have feelings for me?"

Santana saw Brittany swallow and fidget a little.

"What if," Brittany began, "What if I told you I don't?"

"Then I'd call you a liar," Santana said without skipping beat.

"Do you have feelings for me?" Brittany asked, trying to turn the tables.

"Feelings come after," Santana said slowly, "I told you that." She looked at the ground not wanting to see Brittany's reaction. Santana was starting to think that feeling did come first this time.

Brittany stared at Santana who looked like she was about to say something else but didn't. "I can't. It's like we're not on the same bus or time zone or something." Brittany stepped away from the door, turned around and left Santana in the garage.

Brittany was mad, turned on and confused all at the same time. How could Santana just tell her what to do? How could Santana say that her feelings were silly?

She entered the house again and was sure more people had shown up. The music was louder and the dance area was even more crowded. She scanned the crowd and found Quinn laughing at something Sam was saying.

"Hey!" Brittany had to almost shout to be heard.

Quinn turned, still laughing, "Hey! You have to hear Sam's impressions! He's so funny!"

"I try," Sam said proudly.

Brittany gave Sam a small smile. "Can I steal Quinn for a bit?"

"Sure," Sam said reluctantly, and disappeared into the crowd.

"You left!" Quinn said, pointing to Brittany. "You..I told you not to leave and you left."

"I'm sorry. Listen, I'm not in the party mood anymore. Do you want to go? I'll give you a ride home."

"Nope." Quinn took another drink of her Martini. "I'm mad at you cause…you left. You went with her, didn't you?"

Brittany closed her eyes and let out a frustrated breath. This whole two love triangle thing was entertaining in movies but frustrating in real life. "We were talking."

"Sure." Quinn sarcastic tone was new to Brittany and was sure it was the alcohol.

"Let's go." Brittany tried again.

"No. I want to stay. I'll…I'll leave with Mercedes."

"Fine," Brittany said, giving up. She turned to leave when she felt Quinn's arm on her sholder to turn her back around.

"Wait," Quinn said, wrapping her arms around Brittany's neck, "I wanna ask you my ge…question."

Brittany put her hands on Quinn's waist to steady her. "You're drunk."

Quinn blinked a few times and looked like she was trying really had to focus. "Will you go out with me? Will you…you and me…umm..girl…girlfriends? Will you?"

Two offers. Two offers in one night for totally different things. Brittany couldn't believe this was happening. How did she come to have feelings for two people like this? They weren't the same feelings. She felt different things for each one, but in the end she did care for both.

"You're drunk." Brittany said again. "Ask me when you're sober."

"She doesn't want to date you Britt," Quinn said, suddenly sounding almost clearheaded, "She'll be three thousand miles away and she doesn't want to be your girlfriend. But I do. I care about you and I know you care about me. That night at your place….that was…you care about me too."

Someone bumped into Brittany and she almost lost her grip on Quinn. She had almost forgotten they were standing in the middle of a crowded house full of people. She focused on Quinn again. "I'm going to go. Promise me you'll leave with Mercedes."

Brittany hated to see the disappointed look in Quinn's eyes. "I promise."

Quinn let Brittany go and started making her way through the crowd.

"Fuck," Brittany said and headed for the exit.

###

Santana's reflexes seemed to be thirty seconds behind because she was sure Brittany had disappeared in flash. Taking a deep breath, she opened the garage door and went back inside the house. Brittany was nowhere to be seen but she did spot Quinn dancing with Sam.

"LOPEZ!" Sugar yelled, she came rushing towards Santana with another Margarita in hand. "Drink up!"

"Sugar, did you see Brittany come in here?" Santana asked taking the drink.

"Yeah, she ran through here, saw her talk to Sam and Quinn and took off," Sugar said taking a sip of her Margarita.

"She left?" Santana asked taking a sip.

"Yeah...whoosh! Out the door." Sugar said.

Santana finished her drink in two sips and headed to the spot Sam and Quinn were dancing.

"Hey, hey guys," Santana said loudly trying to be heard above the music.

Sam and Quinn stopped dancing and faced Santana.

"Hey," Sam said, "What's up Santana?"

Santana was going to ask about Brittany, but instead she got angry, angry at Quinn for messing things up.

"Why can't you just leave her alone?" Santana shoved her empty glass into Quinn's chest..

"What?" Quinn was surprised. She let the glass fall to the floor. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Santana," Sam warned. "Calm down."

"She doesn't need some boring hippie, you know," Santana yelled.

"Well she doesn't need some sex crazed womanizer, you know," Quinn shot back.

"Whoa!" Sam said stepping in between both women, "What the hell is going on?"

"Nothing," Quinn smirked, "Santana's just a crazy drunk."

"Fuck you, you wanna be Sofia Coppola!" Santana said stumbling as she tried to lunge after Quinn.

Sam held Santana back while Quinn laughed.

"Stop!" Sam began to push Santana back further, "Come on. Let's get you home."

"She doesn't have feelings for you!" Santana yelled. She saw Quinn getting further and further away and wondered if she was floating. Santana looked over to Sam and groaned. "Leave me alone."

Sam tightened his hold on Santana and spun her around. "Come on, let's take you home."

"She doesn't like you," Santana yelled one last time as Sam lead her out the door.

Sam managed to drag Santana to her house and into her bedroom by putting Santana's arm over her shoulders. Once in Santana's bedroom, Sam dropped the inebriated ex-cheerleader on her bed and took off her shoes.

"OK," Sam said, "I'll take off your shoes, but that's it. I'm not drunk enough to change you into your PJs."

"Brittany doesn't want her," Santana mumbled and then began to laugh.

Sam reached behind Santana's head and grabbed the top of the sheets and pulled them down and managed to get Santana under them.

"OK bookworm," Sam said staggering a little, "Sleep it off. I'll talk to you tomorrow.

"Why is my bedroom in Rachel's house?" Santana asked out loud.

Sam turned off the lights and went back to the party.

##

Brittany taped up the last box of her things. She looked around her now empty apartment and felt a pang in her chest at how much she was going to miss this little place.

All her furniture was now in storage and would be shipped later by her parents. All she was taking to New York were her clothes and her camera equipment. The apartment she and Mercedes would be living in was already furnished and even if it was all ugly, it would have to do for a little while.

Brittany was so grateful Mercedes had decided to come with her. She felt safer and less anxious knowing her best friend would be with her. She still had Holly and Quinn, but it wasn't the same as having Mercedes there.

Quinn.

Brittany had called Mercedes earlier and asked if she had taken Quinn home and was glad to know Quinn had kept her promise to leave with Mercedes. Brittany had been thinking about Quinn's question all day. Even though Quinn was drunk, the way she her eyes looked when she asked her out were so honest she almost said yes.

Then there was also Santana. The girl Brittany had had a crush, or maybe more than a crush, for two years. The girl who finally, finally noticed her and wanted her. The girl who wanted to sleep with her but not date her. The girl who would be living so far away.

Brittany took a deep breath. She and her friends were leaving in less than 10 days. It was time to say good bye to L.A.

###

Santana felt like someone had dropped a thousand cannon balls on her head. She groaned and opened her eyes and was sure she was having a nightmare. Sam was sitting at the edge of her bed with a goofy grin on his face.

"Sam?"

"Morning drunk-a-saurus. Or actually, good afternoon." Sam said handing Santana a bottle of water.

Santana sat up, took the bottle and drank everything in record time. She was so thirsty. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see if you're OK," Sam explained, "And for you to tell me what the hell is going on between you and Quinn? You almost kicked her ass last night."

Santana was confused for a moment but then everything came flooding back. "Shit."

"Shit," Sam repeated. "So what's the deal?"

Santana crossed her arms over her chest and decided to tell Sam everything. Why not? Kurt knew, so why not Sam. After she was done, she waited for Sam to say something but he seemed to be in total shock.

"I..I really have no gaydar," Sam said shaking his head.

"What?"

"At the party, I was hitting on Quinn and I thought she liked me," Sam said, shrugging his shoulders, "But I guess she was just being nice."

"What, hold up!" Santana said raising her hand at Sam, "You like Quinn? That's gross."

"What? She's hot and it doesn't matter anyway because she's gay."

"She's Bi," Santana corrected, "And you can do way better than that Woodstock reject."

"Whatever," Sam said, "Plenty of other ladies out there. But we're getting off the subject here. You told Brittany you don't want to date her but do want to sleep with her?"

"Not like that," Santana said, "I told you I'm not girlfriend material."

"But you dated Kate."

"Yeah, and I could barely remember to show up for our dates," Santana said, "I'm just way too into myself, right now."

"What's Kate's favorite drink?" Sam suddenly asked.

"What?" Santana was confused.

"What is it?"

"I don't know. Water?" Santana guessed. She really couldn't remember if Kate even had a favorite anything.

"What's Brittany's favorite drink?"

"Ice tea," Santana said without thinking.

Sam nodded. "What's Kate's favorite animal?"

"What the fuck is this? I'm not in the mood for a game show." Santana was growing impatient. When Sam just looked at her she groaned. "I have no fucking clue."

"What's Brittany's favorite animal?

"I don't know," Santana said. "I think it's cats. I mean, she worked the cat tent at the adoption fair, she made a cat movie and she collects little cat figurines. So I'm guessing it's cats."

Sam smiled like he had figured out the world's most difficult puzzle. "Do you see what's going on here?"

"No, so why don't you enlighten me Freud," Santana said, sarcasm dripping from her words. Being a Psychology major Sam was always trying to shrink people's heads. Santana hated it.

"You say you're a bad girlfriend because you don't remember important things about the girl you're dating," Sam said, "But you remember all this stuff about Brittany. Maybe you were a shitty girlfriend to those other girls because you didn't care about them."

Santa let out a nervous chuckle. Thinking back to her time with Brittany she could remember almost everything about her. She liked chicken wings and ice tea. She loved animals and ties. She had a sister and parents who she was really close to. She was caring, talented and could make Santana smile just by entering a room.

"See," Sam went on, "You weren't even dating her and you were already a great girlfriend to Brittany. You'r problem is that you have it in your head you need sex to win someone over. It's not your fault, that's just been your experience with dating. You don't need to have sex with Brittany to make her love you."

"Lo…love?" Santana asked. She swallowed down what she was sure were nerves and fear, "Who said anything….I'm just trying to get her to pick me."

"You are," Sam agreed, "But it's more than just sex."

Santana sat in her bed and let Sam's words run through her head. She pictured going on dates with Brittany and the mere thought made Santana feel a warmth run through her. She pictured herself in bed with Brittany but not anything sexual. Just them talking and knew that would be just as amazing. Picturing herself as Brittany's girlfriend made her smile. But her smile quickly faded.

Santana looked up at Sam. "Shit."

###

"That's the last of it," Holly said.

Brittany, Holly and a hung-over Quinn had finally cleaned up the editing room and it was ready to be locked up for the summer. Thanks to budget cuts, and Holly being in New York, there would be no summer film classes.

"Oh Britt!" Holly said, "I was able to get a ticket for Mercedes too! I emailed you the confirmation number."

"Thank yo so much, Holly!" Brittany

"I'm glad to do it," Holly said, "The more the better! I may be like 10 years older than you girls, but I'm looking forward to partying it up with you three."

"It's going to be awesome!" Brittany said, jumping up form excitement.

"I'm going to go lock up my office, then go pick up my professors grad gown. I guess the next time I see you Britt, will be on stage."

"Yup!" Brittany said. The smile on her face was hurting a little, but she couldn't keep from smiling.

Holly turned to look at Quinn who was sitting at one of the desks, her head in her hands. "Take care of that one. Can't have her falling apart before we leave." Holly gave Brittany one last wink and left.

Brittany sat next to Quinn and slowly moved her head to look up at her. "You OK?"

"I feel like shit and embarrassed," Quinn said softly.

"Embarassed? Why?"

"I totally wanted the moment I asked you out to be more romantic and not some clumsy drunken moment."

Brittany let out a small chuckle. "You were pretty wasted. But it's OK, you looked cute."

"Stop," Quinn said, her cheeks turning a little pink.

"Ask me again," Brittany said seriously.

Quinn's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"

Brittany nodded. School was over, graduation was coming up and they would be leaving soon. Quinn had been upfront about everything. Her feelings, her intentions and Brittany loved her for that. And while her feelings for Quinn may not be as intense as her feelings for Santana, Quinn made her feel safe and happy.

"Will you go out with me?" Quinn asked, her voice incredibly shy.

Brittany smiled. "Yes."

Quinn let out a relieved breath and hugged brought Brittany in for a hug. "I thought you were going to say no."

Brittany hugged her tighter and felt like a part of her was disappearing. She had to grow up. She had to let these silly school girl crushes be a thing of the past. She was really and adult now and she had to start acting like one. "No way I could say no to you, silly."

"Do you want to go out tonight? Or we could…"

"Wait, wait," Brittany interrupted, "Let's wait. Like you said, when we are in New York."

"Umm, yeah sure," Quinn said with a smile, "That's for the best. There's way too much to do before we leave."

"Yup," Brittany said. Although she was happy about Quinn, part of her was sad that whatever she had with Santana had ended for her. She and Santana were already having trouble when they went to the same school. Brittany couldn't imagine what it would be like when they were long distance. It wouldn't work.

Quinn leaned in and placed a small kiss on Brittany's lips. "I think you just cured my hangover." She said with a big grin.

"I'm glad," Brittany said with a light laugh.

Quinn got up and walked to the door, "I have to finish up some things. I'll see you later?"

"For sure."

When Quinn left Brittany sat in the editing room alone for a while. Things were changing and she wasn't sure how to feel.

###

Santana tried calling and texting Brittany with no success. Finally Santana had called Mercedes and found out Brittany was helping Holly out in the editing room.

She sprinted to the film department and was able to catch a glimpse of Holly as she sat in her office. Santana was almost at the editing room when she spotted Quinn coming out with a ridiculously big smile on her face. Santana quickly entered the nearby classroom and watched Quinn pass her by. Why was Quinn so happy, she wondered.

Once Quinn had rounded the corner, Santana went into the editing room and found Brittany sitting down at a desk, a small smile on her face. Then it hit her.

"You're going to New York with Quinn," Santana said in a soft voice. There was no need to ask, she knew that's what was happening.

Brittany looked up, startled. "Shit! Santana! You scared me."

Brittany had been thinking about her decision and was slowly starting to realize she made the right one. She'd always have feeling for Santana, she was sure of it, but things were just not lining up. Our ducks aren't in a row, Brittany thought.

"You're going to New York with Quinn," Santana repeated. There was a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach she had never felt before. It was awful.

"Of course I am," Brittany said, "We both got the job so it only makes sense to go on the same flight.

"No!" Santana said through gritted teeth, "You're going to New York _with_ Quinn.

Brittany now understood what Santana was saying. Santana knew she had chosen to be with Quinn.

It was barely a whisper but Brittany answered, "Yes."

Santana let out a noise that was somewhere between a laugh and a cry. No, she wouldn't shed one tear, "So, what happened between us was really just you fulfilling some dumb fantasy you had about me?"

Brittany had expected Santana to be angry but not mean, "What? Of course not!"

"You're just like everyone else," Santana said, her anger rising, "You pretend to like me, use me for my popularity and just cut me lose."

Brittany was now getting angry. Santana was accusing her of being a horrible person, making fun of her feelings, "That's not true! I never wanted to be popular!"

"Isn't it?" Santana accused crossing her arms, "I'm sure you got a little ego boost being seen with the great Santana Lopez. And I'm sure all the flirting and messing around was just icing on the cake."

Santana was so angry. She felt the hurt trying to rise up inside her but pushed it down with anger. Being angry was easier.

"Stop it!" Brittany almost yelled, "Stop talking like you know my feelings! You don't!"

Santana just shook her head and let out a bitter laugh, "Were you sleeping with Quinn while messing around with me? Was this some sort of game the two of you were playing?"

Brittany couldn't believe all the things that Santana was saying. How could she accuse her of being that horrible, "I wasn't using you. I wasn't playing any games! You were!"

"You know what? Fuck you," Santana said, in disgust, "You get your rocks of with me before we graduate, now you're going to go fuck Quinn in New York for the summer. Then what? Huh, Brittany? After the summer, are you going to come back to L.A. and mess with someone else?"

Brittany felt like her eyes were burning and her vision was getting really blurry from the tears that had collected in her eyes. She had never had anyone talk to her like this, especially not someone she cared about. Santana might as well be punching her in the stomach because that's exactly what this felt like.

"I'm not coming back," Brittany said wiping the tears from her eyes, "I'm moving Santana! I'm not coming back!"

Santana opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She took a breath and tried again, "What do you mean, you're not coming back?"

"My New York job is permanent," Brittany said, "Why do you think I packed everything up and gave up my apartment?"

Santana felt like she had been knocked down by a bulldozer. "You're...you're moving? Permanently?"

"Yes! Why are you acting like it's some surprise? You knew this!"

"No, I didn't," Santana shot back, "You, you made me think this was just a summer thing! Was that part of your little game too?"

"Stop saying I'm playing games!" Brittany shouted. She got closer to Santana. "I never said it was just for the summer."

"Yes you did!" Santana was trying desperately to remember when Brittany had said this job was permanent, but couldn't.

Brittany had never felt so angry before. She didn't have a temper and hardly ever got mad but Santana had managed to anger her more than once since they met. "No, I didn't. That's why you wanted to do this sex thing! Sleep together for a little bit then I'd leave and you wouldn't have to see me again."

"NO! That's not why!" Santana felt like her blood was boiling and her eyes were burning from the tears she was holding back. "That's not why at all. I'm...God, I'm so stupid!"

"What?"

"I thought," Santana was so mad that she laughed, "You were supposed to pick me! Me! You said...forget it. You were just fulfilling your creepy stalker crush on me before you left! That's all this was. I helped you graduate and you use me like this? You were always going to be with Quinn, weren't you? You were just messing around with my feelings. Fuck you Brittany!"

Brittany felt like she had been slapped. How could Santana be so cruel? None of this was true. "You're the one who played games. I said I wanted to date but all you wanted was sex. So guess what, Quinn wants to date me. Not once, not once, has she pressured me into sleeping with her or has she even mentioned sleeping together. So yeah, excuse me for picking the person who wants to have a real relationship with me and not use me as some sort of sex play thing!"

Santana felt a tear escape her left eye and roll down her cheek. She felt like she wanted to throw up. She had come here to tell Brittany she wanted to take her out on a romantic dinner and a boat ride in the marina and instead she's listening to Brittany tell her she chose Quinn and is moving away.

Santana clenched her jaw and let her anger be her strength. "This? This why feelings shouldn't happen. You get screwed over."

Brittany blinked back her surprise feeling she she was finally catching on. "Feelings? Do you...do you have feelings for me?"

"Doesn't matter, "Santana said, a bitter smile on her face, "Maybe I came here to tell you I realized I was being an idiot not wanting to date you. Maybe I came here to try to get in your pants one last time before you jumped on that plane. You'll never know."

"Santana..." Brittany wasn't sure what she wanted to say. If Santana told her right here and now she wanted more than just sex, she would pick her.

Santana couldn't be around Brittany anymore. It hurt too much and she vowed never to feel like this again. "Here's a hint. I just wanted you for sex. I figured it was the least you could do to pay me back for helping you graduate."

Brittany felt her legs go weak and sat down. No one had ever hurt her as much as Santana was hurting her right now. She didn't care that tear after tear was falling down her cheeks. She didn't care that she was having trouble catching her breath from crying.

Santana swallowed her own cries and watched a defeated Brittany sit. She had to force herself from taking her in her arms and telling her she didn't mean anything she had said. Tell her she did want to date her and try being friends and girlfriends. But she didn't. Not when Brittany had chosen to be with Quinn. If Brittany had wanted to be with her, she would have never chosen Quinn. But she did.

"Have a great life in New York," Santana said, bitterly, "But I guarantee you that you and that hippie won't last. You'll die of boredom within a month."

Brittany took a deep breath and looked straight into Santana's eyes. "At least she's never made me cry as much as you have."

Santana held her head high, turned around and left the room. It wasn't until she was close to the exit of the building that she let the tears she had been holding back escape. She had never cried over anyone, ever. It felt like her insides were being torn apart. She wiped her eyes and practically ran to her car.

Inside the editing room Brittany let herself cry. Every fantasy, every "what if" she had ever had about Santana was gone.

###

Graduation came and went. Brittany proudly walked the stage and accepted her diploma from Holly. She looked down at the fourth row of the guest section and saw her parents, sister and Quinn cheering her on. Brittany lifted her diploma in the air and cheered too. As she walked to the side of the stage she managed to lock eyes with Santana who was sitting with the English department graduates. Santana looked away quickly and Brittany's happiness was momentary lost.

When Santana went up on stage she only focused on her parents and brother in the audience. She didn't want another instance of looking at Brittany. She received her diploma from Will Shuester and graduated at the top of her class. This diploma, her career was her life and she was going to make sure she did it right.

###

Just as planned, the following week Brittany, Mercedes, Quinn and Holly found themselves at the airport ready to take a one-way flight to their new home. A new home for all except Holly who would be coming back to L.A. in the fall.

Brittany was anxious to leave. She wanted to put L.A. behind her and move on.

"You ready?" Quinn asked.

"Hell yeah!" Brittany looked past Quinn and spotted Sam, Mike, Kurt, Sugar, Rachel and Tina coming towards them. "Oh my God!"

"Oh good!" Rachel said once she reached them, "We were afraid we missed you."

"What are you fools doing here?" Mercedes asked.

"We came to say good bye," Kurt said.

"That's so sweet!" Holly said.

"We would have been here sooner, but traffic was a bitch!" Sam said.

Brittany looked at her friends and noticed Santana was not among them. She hadn't spoken to Santana since that day in the editing room and aside from their brief encounter at graduation, she hadn't seen her either. "Where's...ummm...Puck?" Brittany asked softly.

Kurt and Sam gave Brittany a knowing look. Along with Mercedes, they were the only ones who know what had happened. Brittany hadn't even told Quinn and wasn't sure if she should.

"Working," Sugar said.

"And _others_," Kurt went added, "Couldn't make it."

"Of course," Brittany said trying to make that sinking feeling in her stomach go away.

"OK kids," Holly said, "This is sweet and all but we have to go through security and all that jazz. Gotta get moving if we want to make it on time."

Hugs and good bye were exchanged. Brittany hugged Kurt a little tighter and whispered in his ear. "Tell Santana I said bye and that I still owe her a banana split rematch."

"What?"Kurt asked confused.

"Just tell her." Brittany let go and followed Holly to the security line. It was time to go.

###

Santana sat at her desk trying to write her next short story but couldn't. She had writer's block and it was frustrating her to no end. So when there was a knock at the door, she was glad for the distraction.

"Hello recluse," Kurt said coming in.

"I'm working Kurt."

"Do you want to know where I just came from?"

"Not really," Santana said, going to sit back at her desk.

"The airport. Went to bid a fond farewell to the new New Yorkers."

Santana tensed. She knew today was the day but wasn't sure what time. Knowing that Brittany was gone, possibly forever, didn't make Santana feel as good as she thought it would .

"Brittany wanted me to give you a message." Kurt said trying to playful. "Want to know what it is?"

"No," Santana said and pretended to write.

Kurt began walking to towards the door. "OK well, I'll leave you to work then. I only came to deliver the message but if you don't want to know..."

Santana squeezed her eyes shut then opened them. "What...what was the message?" She swore she would forget all things Brittany but she had to know.

"Brittany wanted me to tell you bye and that she owes you a banana split rematch," Kurt said, "What the hell does that mean anyway?"

Despite herself, Santana felt a small smile tug at her lips. She quickly forced it away. "Nothing. Now, can you leave? I have a story to write."

"Fine," Kurt said, "I'll call you later."

After Kurt was gone, Santana began to type. Her writer's block was gone.

-**tbc**-

* * *

**A/N: Longest chapter I've ever written. Figured I'd give you a long one for the long wait. And I know this sounds like an ending but it's not. Maybe an ending for the first half of this story. Hopefully you don't hate me too much. **

**Thanks again to everyone reading. And I'm really surprised by the number of people following this story. Thank you. If you feel the need to yell at me for this chapter, head on over to my tumblr or twitter and fire away. **


	16. Ice Cream

**Six**_** Hours Later**_

Santana leaned back in her chair and groaned and her back muscles released the tension that had been building up from almost six hours of sitting. She looked at her computer screen and still couldn't believe she had written for that long without a break.

Since her last two published stories had hit the literary scene, Santana had been approached by an agent who wanted to represent her and publish a book of her short stories. She dug through her work and pulled up all the short stories she had ever written and given them to the publisher, but they wanted one more story.

All her dreams were coming true. She had gotten into the grad program she wanted, gotten the job she wanted, was given the opportunity to publish her work like she wanted. Everything she had wanted was hers. Everything, except for the girl she wanted.

Santana got up and went to the kitchen to get a drink. She didn't want to think about Brittany or the fact that her plane had probably already landed and she was starting her new life.

"Forget her," Santana told herself and finished her water.

Santana stretched again and headed back to her desk. She was trying to forget about Brittany but this story she was writing wasn't letting her. It was about Brittany. Sort of. She let out a bitter chuckle. Apparently getting her heart ripped out equaled writing one of her best stories to date.

As she started on her next chapter, her phone beeped alerting her to a new text. She picked up her phone and froze and her heart rate increased ten fold. It was a text from Brittany. Santana almost deleted it without reading but she'd be lying to herself if she said she wasn't curious as to what the other girl had to say.

_Did Kurt give you my message? - BP_

Santana stared at the message for what seemed like hours, trying to decide if she should respond. She decided on something simple.

_Yes - SL_

That's all. That's all Brittany would get from her. She put her phone away and started writing.

Three thousand miles away in a cab to Brooklyn, Brittany smiled seeing Santana's short message. At least she responded, so that was something. Brittany waited to see if Santana would text more, but she didn't. Disappointed, Brittany put her phone away and looked out the window at the city that would be her new home.

"You OK?" Mercedes was sitting next to her. They had just dropped off Holly and Quinn but they had all made plans to meet up for dinner later.

"Yeah," Brittany said softly, "I'm good."

###

**_Six Days Later_**

Brittany sat in front of Roz Washington and tried to follow what she was saying but the woman talked really fast. From what Brittany could make out Roz liked her work so far and wanted her to help on a small low budget movie the studio was producing. Brittany agreed not really sure what she had gotten herself into, but she really didn't care as long as she was working on a project.

She left Roz's office and headed straight to Quinn's desk to tell her. They still hadn't gone on their first date. Which Brittany was surprisingly happy about. There was just too much going on to think about dates and stuff. Brittany still had boxes and boxes to unpack, she had do so much for this job and she had to get used to this new life. Even though her date with Quinn had been in the works for months, it still felt too fast for Brittany.

"Hey!" Quinn said getting up. She almost went to kiss Brittany but then backed off. They had both agreed to stay professional at work. "Sorry, I forget sometimes."

"It's fine," Brittany said with a small laugh. She really did like Quinn but Brittany still couldn't stop thinking about how badly things had ended with Santana. Every time she looked at Quinn's smiling face, Brittany saw a flash of Santana trying not to cry. She just wished she could stop thinking about that day. "Guess what?"

"What?" Quinn asked.

"Roz assigned me to some low budget movie! Isn't it cool?" Brittany couldn't hold back her smile anymore.

"That's amazing! I told you Britt, you're going to be huge here. It's great!"

"Thanks!" Brittany said proudly, "What about you? Has she talked to you yet?"

Quinn's smile faded. "She did and…I don't know. All I wanted was to be a filmmaker and get this job and now that I'm here…."

"You don't want to be here?" Brittany asked, a bit in a panic. The last thing she wanted was for Quinn to leave.

"I really love it here," Quinn explained, "But, I just don't know if being a director is right for me. I think I prefer the job Roz has, you know, actually running a studio or department. Some sort of management studio job."

Brittany let out a relived sigh. "I thought you were going to quit and leave me here."

"I'd never do that," Quinn assured.

By the the time five o'clock rolled around, Brittany was exhausted and all she wanted was some ice cream. She opened her laptop and searched for a New York ice cream shop. The city was smaller than L.A. but bigger at the same time and it would take a long time to figure out where everything was. When the search results popped up, she giggled at seeing one of them. She took out her phone and texted Santana.

_Did you know there's a ice cream shop here called Big Gay Ice Cream? Their ice cream has to be pretty fun, right? - BP_

She hadn't heard from Santana since the last, one word, text from a few days ago. They had parted on such a bad way that Brittany felt like she needed to fix it somehow. Even though they couldn't be together, she still wanted to be Santana's friend somehow. And there was that lingering feeling in the back of her mind that Santana really did have feelings for her.

On the West Coast, Santana adjusted her towel on the sand and laid down to tan her back. The beach trip Kurt had suggested was exactly what she needed after days of marathon writing. Her story was done and it proved to be more of an emotional rollar coater than she thought. She watched her friends dive in to waves and others enjoying the sun. As long as she had her friends she didn't need anything else.

Santana heard her phone alert her to a text and when she opened it she was yet again surprised to find out who it was. Finishing her story, she thought she had given herself closure to all things Brittany, but here she was again receiving text from the filmmaker.

_Probably - SL_

Santana shut off her phone and enjoyed the sun.

###

_**Six Weeks Later**_

Brittany looked around her new apartment and smiled. She was finally unpacked. It had taken her and Mercedes longer than they thought to finally make their apartment feel like home. New York was slowly starting to feel like home too.

Mercedes had managed to find a job at a newly created record label, TroubleTones Records, as an assistant to the talent scouts. Mercedes loved it.

"I'm exhausted!" Mercedes huffed dropping her body on their brand new couch.

"Me too!" Brittany did the same.

"Oh hey. Have you checked your email? Kurt's coming to New York."

Brittany sat up in surprise. "He is?"

"Yeah. He's coming for some fashion thing and wants to meet up."

Kurt had managed to get a job at Vogue's West Coast office as an assistant to one of the top editors. Kurt, Mike and Rachel were really the only people she regularly kept in touch with. Everyone else seemed to be slowly fading into the background. Even Santana. As much as Brittany had tried to establish some sort of connection between them, Santana didn't seem to want to try. Texts and emails either resulted in a short one sentence response or no response at all.

"Just him?" Brittany asked.

Mercedes gave her a pointed look. "Are you still trying with Santana?"

Brittany shrugged her shoulders.

"Let it go," Mercedes said, "She said some really nasty things to you. All she wanted was sex, nothing more."

"I don't know..."

"You have a girlfriend who cares about you and you need to concentrate on Quinn. Not Santana."

"I just...I just feel like I need to fix this."

Mercedes reached for Brittany's hand. "You may want to try to be her friend again, but she doesn't. She either ignores your emails and texts or she gives you one word responses. Move on with your life, girl. College is over."

Brittany gave Mercedes a sad smile. She was right. She needed to move on and she had to accept that she and Santana wouldn't even be friends. The realization made her feel like throwing up.

"I'll be back." Brittany got up and went outside for some fresh air. Once outside, she took out her phone and dialed.

_"This is Santana Lopez. Leave a message and I'll get back to you later." Beep._

"Umm, hey Santana. Long time no talk, right? Well, this isn't really talking, I mean, I'm talking but not you. I mean, you can't cause this is a message. Umm, how are you? I heard you're getting a book published. It's awesome. You're going to be a super famous author and be like Stephen King but not scary..."

Brittany took a breath and continued. She felt so nervous.

"...Umm, I figured I'd call this time since you seem like you don't like to type. But that's cool, I guess writing your stories the last thing you want to do is type a text or email. I'm...I'm working on a movie. They keep changing the title, so once I know what it is, I'll tell you. Uh, Kurt..."

Beep.

Brittany cursed under her breath and dialed again. The machine picked up.

"Sorry, I didn't think my message was that long. So, Kurt's coming to New York and I was...I know you said you'd...you'd come too with him. I just wanted to...see if you, uh, were coming too. We could go to that Big Gay Ice Cream shop. Umm...OK, bye. Oh! I can't wait to read your book! OK, bye for real this time."

Brittany hung up and went back inside.

Santana sat at her new desk in the English department and continued to set up. The semester didn't start for another few weeks, but she wanted to have things ready. When her phone rang and she saw who it was, she stared at the screen and let it go to voice mail. Just when she thought she had gotten Brittany from invading her mind, Brittany would contact her.

Santana listened to the messages and tried not to let her emotions get the best of her again. This was the first time she had heard Brittany's voice in a long time. She sounded so sweet and Santana almost called her back, but then she remembered Brittany was officially dating Quinn now. Kurt had filled her in on all the latest developments from New York. It almost felt like Brittany was trying to rub salt on her slowly healing wounds.

Santana hit her text icon.

_Too busy to travel. Have fun with Kurt. - SL_

She went back to setting up for her new job.

###

**_Sixteen Months Later_**

Santana wasn't sure how she was able to function. School, work and finishing her second book were taking up all her time. She was so busy she didn't have time to think about anything else. Her love life was back to what she considered normal. Dating without commitment.

No girlfriends, no feelings, just fun and casual sex. That's all she wanted right now anyway. Occasionally the thought of giving a relationship another try entered her mind but it never stayed long.

Santana entered her apartment and was startled to find Kurt and Sam sitting on her couch watching a movie.

"Seriously? I gave you a key for emergencies not so you can come in here and watch my TV!" Santana put her bag on her desk and went to sit in the recliner next to the couch.

"This is what you get for having a 50-inch TV," Sam said, "Now that your a super rich author, expect us to mooch off your earnings."

"Jerks," Santana said, "And besides, I'm not rich. I'm...comfortable."

"More comfortable than us," Kurt said.

Santana smiled proudly. Between her job at the school, the residuals of her first book and the advancement on her second, Santana was indeed living comfortably. Her career was going just as she planned. The next step was becoming a professor at ULA and that was almost a given.

She glanced at the screen and watched the guy in the movie get his head axed off. "Jesus! What the hell are you watching?"

"Horror movie," Sam said.

Santana looked over to Kurt. "You? You're watching a horror movie? You hate those."

"It's a special one," Kurt said, fidgeting a little.

"It looks like a super low-budget, straight to DVD movie. What's so special about it?"

Sam and Kurt looked at each other and said nothing.

"What?"

"It's...uh," Kurt said, "We know the director."

"Oh God, don't tell me that guy you were fucking last month is director," Santana said rolling her eyes.

"It's not him," Kurt said softly.

Sam reached for the DVD cover on the coffe table and handed it to Santana. She scanned the credits and her eyes widened when she saw the name.

Brittany S. Pierce.

"It's her first movie," Kurt said, "She mailed me a copy. It _is_ a low budget, straight to DVD movie, but she's really proud of it."

"Yeah," Sam added, "The writing and dialogue are crap, but her directing is really good. I've jumped up in my seat a few times."

Santana was still staring at the name when Kurt spoke again. "Apparently, the guy who was supposed to direct this got another movie and they gave Brittany a shot."

Santana dropped the DVD cover back on the table. "Good for her. So, are you guys hungry? I'm starving." She got up and started heading to the kitchen.

"That's it?" Kurt asked, turning to look at her.

"What do you want me to say?" Santana asked, "It's what she wanted to do, so she's doing it."

There really wasn't anything to say. She hadn't heard from Brittany in over a year. The last time had been when Brittany had left her that message asking if she was going to New York with Kurt. In all honestly, Santana had expected another text, email or voice message from Brittany but one never came. But why would it? Santana had made sure she only gave Brittany the bare minimum.

She really couldn't believe it had been so long since that day. The hurt she had felt was now a dull ache that she tried never to think about. But she had to thank Brittany for one thing. If Brittany had never crushed her like that, she wouldn't have been able to write such emotional stories. Stories that helped pay for the big screen TV Brittany's movie was currently playing on.

"So you're over her?" Sam asked.

Santana let out a chuckle. "That was over a year ago. I don't even think about her anymore." She hoped that sounded convincing because from time to time, she did think about Brittany.

"OK," Kurt said, turning his attention back to the screen.

Santana left Sam and Kurt and headed to the kitchen. She opened her refrigerator and took out a beer. She needed a drink. In the background she heard screaming and smiled. Brittany had gotten to direct a movie. She wondered...

_I'll dedicate my first movie to you._

Santana shook her had. That was a long time ago. She didn't expect Brittany to remember.

_"Hey Santana! Did you hear the other Brittany news?"_ Kurt yelled from the living room.

"I don't care!" Santana yelled back.

_"She and Quinn broke up!"_ Kurt yelled back.

Santana hurried back to the living room. "What?"

"They broke up," Kurt said, "I still can't believe they lasted that long, but it just didn't work I guess."

"They...they broke up?" She felt like she needed to hear it again.

"Yup," Sam added, "Man, too bad Quinn lives so far cause I'd for sure call her up."

"You're a pig," Kurt chastised, "She just got out of a long term relationship and you'd hit on her?"

"I'm kidding," Sam said with a small laugh.

"I dont' think you are," Kurt shot back.

"Hold up, wait," Santana interrupted, "When? How? Why?"

Kurt smirked. "I thought you didn't care?"

"Just answer the fucking questions Kurt." She felt like she needed to know everything.

"They just...broke up," Kurt explained, "No drama or anything. No cheating. I guess the relationship just ran its course."

Santana sat back down and leaned back. She knew they wouldn't last and she expected to be happy to hear the news they were finished. She expected to be happy to hear the relationship Brittany had broken her heart for, was dead. But she wasn't happy.

The movie ended and Santana didn't know what had happened on screen. When Kurt went to put the movie back in his bag, Santana stopped him and asked him to leave it. Once they were gone, she put the movie back and checked the credits. At the very end she saw it.

_This movie is dedicated to my favorite teacher. I never would have been able to do this movie without her. Thanks SL. Sorry about all the blood and guts though. _

Santana felt tears slightly burn her eyes. She quickly wiped them away and picked up her phone and debated calling Brittany. What would she say? Brittany had been trying to communicate with her for a long time and Santana had pushed her away.

Every time she thought of Brittany she remembered that stabbing feeling in her chest. She never wanted to feel that again. She took a deep breath and dialed. On the third ring someone picked up but it wasn't Brittany.

"Sorry, you have the wrong number," the guy said and hung up.

Brittany had changed her number. Maybe that was a sign. She took out the movie and put it in the case. She needed time to think.

A day later, sitting in her favorite bench in Central Park, Brittany sat thinking trying to understand how it could have happened again. How she could have, yet again, dated someone who turned out to be a better friend than partner.

She thought back to what Santana had told her. You can't be friends with someone you date. Maybe she was right. Every person she had dated turned out to be better friends than lovers. Her relationship with Quinn had had been great for the past year then, just like with Jesse, they started acting more like friends than lovers.

Maybe it's a good thing she hadn't picked Santana because she was sure it would have ended the same. Brittany told herself she'd stop being friends with the people she dated. She had enough friends. She got up from the bench and went to work.

###

_**Six Years Later**_

Brittany sat on Quinn's living room couch looking at the TV. She wasn't watching, but just staring at the movements of the people on the screen. It was a Saturday night, and she was sitting on the couch surrounded by scripts and watching dailies. Or trying to anyway.

She turned to look at Quinn who was giving herself a once over in the big living room mirror. "You look hot. Stop looking at yourself in the mirror because you'll fall in."

"That'd be great," Quinn said, "Then at least I wouldn't have to go."

"It'll be fine."

"I bet you I'm back by 10," Quinn predicted.

"No way, you'll be back late." Brittany challenged.

"We'll see," Quinn said with a smile, "Are you sure you're OK looking over these scripts? I could just cancel."

"No. I'll be fine!" Brittany practically pushed Quinn out the door, "Go!"

Once Quinn was gone, Brittany picked up another script and began to read. As she read, she rolled her eyes. Another romantic comedy.

"Boring," Brittany said and threw the script aside. She needed a break. She took out her phone and dialed her best friend. "What's up chicken butt?"

"Excuse you!" Mercedes sounded offended. "You've seen my booty right? Ain't no chicken butt there."

Brittany laughed and got up from the coach. "I'm bored with work. Wanna go get some ice cream or something."

"Look at you," Mercedes said with a chuckle, "It's the middle of January and you want ice cream. It's freezing, Britt."

"It's 60 degrees!" Brittany said, "I thought New York toughed you up and you move back to L.A. and now 60 is freezing?"

"As soon as I moved back, I reverted to my California Girl self," Mercedes said.

Mercedes had moved back to Los Angeles two years ago. Three years after starting at TroubleTones Records, she was promoted to the senior staff of talent acquisition. TroubleTones Records had grown fast and before anyone knew it, they had opened up an office in Los Angeles. When they asked Mercedes to be part of the team to set up the office, Mercedes had agreed. Now she was one of the heads of West Coast talent acquisitions.

"Please!" Brittany pleaded, "I've been back in L.A. for a week and I still haven't eaten Winter ice cream."

"Fine, fine," Mercedes said.

"Yay! Come pick me up! I'm still not used to driving. Who would have thought not six years not driving would make you forget."

Mercedes let out a chuckle. "I'll be there in 15 minutes."

Brittany hung up and her eyes landed on the scripts on the couch. She really should be working but she really wanted some Winter ice cream. New Directions Studios was already a big mess, and so far not one script in that pile would help the studio restore it's success.

During her time in New York, Brittany had thrown herself into her job and managed to direct her first feature film within two years. By her third year, she directed over 50 commercials and was in demand. By her fifth year, Brittany had directed for TV, film and Web. Nothing that would be classified as a blockbuster, but plenty of projects that were huge hits in the Indie scene.

Quinn as it turned out really was better suited for studio management. She loved it and was a genius at running a studio. About six month ago, Roz Washington had been so impressed with Quinn's management skills that she had offered her a job in helping her run a studio in L.A. that was struggling. New Directions Studios. Roz had gotten a few investors together and had bought the struggling studio at a really cheap price.

Quinn had accepted and asked Brittany to come with her. Brittany loved New York, more than she thought she would, but L.A. had more opportunities for her in film and she missed her parents and sister. She missed Mercedes. She agreed and after six years, she was back.

With the exception of Mercedes, no one knew she was back and she wasn't sure she wanted to tell anyone just yet.

Before she knew it, Mercedes was outside and they headed to the nearest ice cream shop.

"How about we have a dinner?" Mercedes said, taking a lick of her ice cream cone.

"That sounds fun." Brittany took a spoonful of her banana split. "I'm going to call Rachel and Mike tomorrow and let them know I'm back."

"Well, I sort of told Rachel arealdy. So, does Mike know Quinn's his new boss yet?"

"Not yet," Brittany said with a chuckle.

In the six years he had been at New Directions Studios, Mike had managed to work himself all the way up to head of special effects. After the studio had declared bankruptcy, most of the staff had left, and the competition had been slim.

Rachel had tried Broadway but somehow ended up back in L.A. as a semi-famous TV and movie actress. It was because of that career change that she and Brittany had managed to keep connected all these years.

"I ran into Sugar the other day," Mercedes said, "You know she and Puck got married! Who would have thought."

"No way!"

"Yup. Anyway, we got to talking and have been keeping in touch every now and then."

"Cool." Brittany licked her spoon. This ice cream was so good.

"I also ran into someone else." Mercedes said carefully.

"Kurt? I emailed him the other day, we can invite him to the dinner."

"Not Kurt, but close," Mercede said, "Santana."

Brittany slowly put her spoon down. She hadn't thought of Santana Lopez in a really long time. She made a decision a long time ago to avoid all things Santana. She had tried to fix things between them with no luck, so she gave up. She would occasionally hear things about her because they did have some friends in common, but for the most part, all Brittany knew was that Santana had published three books, was the youngest head of the ULA English department and was quite the literary celebrity.

"Cool." Brittany took another spoonful of her banana split.

"Wow, I expected another reaction but OK," Mercedes said finishing the last of her cone.

"It's been like six years, Mercedes," Brittany said, "I'm not a college kid anymore with silly crushes. I'm over whatever happened with Santana. In fact, invite her to the dinner. It'd be nice to catch up."

"Are you serious?"

"Why not," Brittany said shrugging her shoulders, "Anyway, the animal adoption fair is tomorrow and Quinn and I are going to see Holly. I'm thinking of getting a cat."

"If you say so." Mercedes leaned back and waited for Brittany to finish her banana split.

###

Santana couldn't stop laughing. Sugar was telling the story about a disastrous trip she and Sugar had taken to the park a few months ago when Sugar had ended up falling into a fountain.

"And you know what Santana did?" Sugar asked the group, "Did she help me out? No. This bitch started laughing."

Santana looked around the table. The group was at Breadstix enjoying a Saturday night out. Sugar, Rachel, Kurt, Sam, Puck, Tina and Kristin. Santana loved getting together with her friends, and everyone was here.

She and Kristen had been dating for two weeks and so far things were going well but she still felt like this relationship had an expiration date. She was getting tired of dating and felt like now that she was in her late twenties she should stop playing the field so much and at least try to be serious. She hadn't really considered a relationship since she had gotten her heart stepped on so many years ago.

Santana leaned over and quickly placed a kiss on Kristin's cheek. The photographer was and hot and nice. She was slightly taller than Santana, light brown hair and green eyes. Santana had been attracted to her right away. She just wished she liked her more.

"What's the matter?" Kristin asked, leaning into Santana.

"What?" Santana asked.

"One second you are laughing, then the next you got a far off look in your eyes. What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Santana said quickly, "Just thinking."

Santana turned her attention to Sugar who was now doing an imitation of Santana.

"I'm Santana...I love books," Sugar said, in a high pitched voice.

"I do not sound like that." Santana defended herself.

Sugar moved on to talk about how she was working on her latest party planning project.

Santana zoned out and was brought back to the conversation when Rachel started talking about how three movie studios were fighting for her to star in their latest musical turned movie.

"It's very exciting," Rachel said, "And it's very rewarding. My talent being sought after for the big screen is truly an honor."

Santana tried not to roll her eyes. The way Rachel spoke, she just came off as conceited and self-righteous.

"Oh that's great, Rachel," Kurt said, genuinely interested, "What studios want you?"

"Well, there's Warner Brothers, which is who I am seriously considering," Rachel said with a bit of arrogance, "And Fox Searchlight wants me too. They're my second choice. And then there's New Directions Studios, who, I know is still struggling but I think they can pull ahead. I mean with Quinn being one of the people running it, I'm sure it'll get its glory back."

"Quinn who?" Sanata asked.

"Fabray," Rache said, "Didn't you hear? She's one of the senior studio heads there now."

"And she's running the studio from New York?" Santana saw Kurt fidget and when she looked at him, he seemed to look a little guilty.

"Uh, no," Rachel said, "Quinn moved back to L.A. like a month a go."

"No shit," Santana said slowly. Her mind immediately went to Brittany. Last she heard they had broken up, but it was hard not to think of Brittany S. Pierce when hearing Quinn's name. She felt a bitter taste in her mouth.

"Who's Quinn?" Kristen asked.

Santana just shook her head.

"Anyway," Rachel went on, "I really like their script and if my talent can single handedly revive that studio to the A list again, I'll be considered legendary."

Santana rolled her eyes while everyone else just nodded.

"I'm hoping Brittany directs because that would be..."

"Brittany who?" Santana suddenly interrupted. If Quinn was back...

"Seriously?" Sam asked.

"Shut up." Santana snapped.

"Pierce," Rachel said, "She's signed on at New Directions too. She moved back to L.A like last week."

Santana felt her mouth go dry. She picked up her glass of water and drank it all. She hadn't thought of Brittany much these past few years. After getting that wrong number she had tried emailing Brittany and never got a response. Sure, she could have asked Kurt or Rachel for her new number, but she didn't want them to know. Time passed and she just let it go. She let Brittany go.

"I ran into Mercedes the other day and she didn't say anything," Santana said.

"Surprise?" Rachel sounded unsure of what to say.

"Who's Brittany?" Kristen asked.

Santana let out a breath and suddenly felt like not being around her new sort of girlfriend.

###

Santana wasn't sure how the hell she ended up volunteering for this thing. Oh, right, Shue was off in Antartica or whatever with his wife Emma. He was the one that was supposed to carry this damn clipboard around wrangling all these damn dogs and cats.

The 6th annual ULA animal adoption fair was well under way and for years, Santana had avoided it like the plague. The last time she had gotten stuck doing this, she had almost melted in the heat. The last time she had been here she had run into Brittany for the second time. Santana shook her head trying not to think of Brittany but hearing Rachel say she was back in town had triggered all her college memories of her ex-student.

Being at this fair, made it worse. It had been so long ago but she could still vividly remember everything about Brittany and she hated it. They say there's always that one that got away, and Santana thought that maybe Brittany was that one for her. It didn't matter anyway, any feelings she thought she had for Brittany were long dead and Santana knew she was just holding on to a romanticized version of Brittany she had written in a lot of her stories.

"Ms. Lopez?"

Santana snapped out of her thoughts and turned her attention to a girl she recognized as one of her students. "What is it?"

"They need you in the cat tent," The girl said, "There's a fat cat going nuts."

Santana groaned and headed the tent. She was going to kill Shue.

###

Brittany couldn't contain her excitement as she stepped into the ULA football field and saw all the familiar tents filled with animals. It looked exactly the same as it did six years ago. "It's like time stood still!"

"It stinks here," Quinn said scrunching up her nose.

"No it doesn't," Brittany said as she continued to look around, "You're just grumpy because your date last night was a bust."

"I told you I'd be home by 10!" Quinn lightly jogged to catch up to Brittany and interlocked their arms. "He was a total bore."

Brittany smiled at Quinn and couldn't help but be thankful that they were still friends. They had dated for almost sixteen months and Brittany considered her time with Quinn some of the best times in her life. They both thought the relationship would be it for them, but over time, they were both proven wrong. It had taken almost a year after their break up, and a lot of hard work, to get to the place they were now. Best friends.

"So, are you sure it's OK if I get a cat?" When Brittany had moved back, Quinn had offered her extra bedroom in her apartment and Brittany gladly accepted. She still intended to look for a place of her own, but she really liked living with her.

"It's fine," Quinn said as they entered the cat tent. "Just as long as I don't have to clean out the litter box."

"Sweet!" Brittany picked up her pace and dragged Quinn through the rows of kittens and cats. She wanted them all. She had had three cats as a kid and loved them dearly and wanted another one now that she was an adult.

"Son of a bitch!"

Brittany turned her attention to the far end of the row and froze when she saw the source of the angry voice.

"Oh shit," Quinn siad next to her, "Is that...is that Santana?"

Santana did her best not to strangle he vicious fat cat she had in her hands. This thing was a beast and Santana was losing her last nerve. Yeah, she was defiantly going to kill Shue. She opened up the cage again and shoved the animal back inside. "Devil's spawn!"

"Santana, that's mean."

Santana turned to snap at the person butting in to her business but seemed to lose her voice when she saw who it was. "Brittany?"

"Hi," Brittany said softly. When she had seen Santana, Brittany had left Quinn's side and gone straight up to her ex-tutor. She looked exactly the same but more mature. Brittany was surprised at how tiny Santana looked because in her memories, Santana was bigger than life. But here she was, in front of her looking small but powerful. And utterly gorgeous. Just looking at her revived her feelings and she felt just as she did that first time she saw Santana at that football game almost eight years ago.

"I..I heard you were back," Santana managed to say. She took in all of Brittany and couldn't understand how she had gotten even more beautiful over time. Last time Santana saw Brittany, the filmmaker had a childlike innocence vibe around her. But now, Brittany looked more confident and just more grown up. All those vivid memories she had were flooding back and giving Santana that weird feeling in the pit of her stomach she hadn't felt in a really long time.

Brittany smiled and reached for the door of the cage. She took out the pudgy tabby cat out and cradled him in her arms. "He's just scared, that's all. That's why he's being grumpy."

Santana watched in amazement as the once vicious animal, was now purring and currled up in Brittany's arms. "How did you do that?"

"I told you, he's just scared," Brittany said, scratching the kitten's ears. "What's his name?"

Santana looked at the paper taped to the cage. "Al."

"Seriously?" Brittany scrunched up her face in disapproval. "That's so boring for a cute tabby."

"More like tubby," Santana said under her breath, "He's huge for a nine month old cat. I think he ate the other one that was in here."

Brittany let out a small laugh. "His new name is...Lord...Tubs! No wait, Lord Tubbington!"

Despite herself, Santana laughed. Brittany hadn't changed at all. "Um, Britt, I'm pretty sure you can't just rename the animals."

Brittany felt like her whole body was on fire when she heard Santana call her by her nickname. "I can if he's mine. I'm adopting him."

"Are you serious?"

"Mmm hmm," Brittany said placing a small kiss on Lord Tubbington's head, "Unless they changed the process, I just go see the guy at the desk over there right?"

Santana just nodded. Everything felt so surreal. Was she really talking to Brittany? Was Brittany really adopting this beast? Santana was sure she was dreaming.

"Umm yeah. Britt..." Santana wasn't sure what she was going to say, but she didn't get the chance to find out before she was interrupted.

"Santana Lopez!" Quinn had the biggest smile in her face. "You look great! I heard you practically run this school now."

And just like that, all the anger and hurt Santana thought she had gotten over six years ago seemed to return in full force just by seeing Quinn and Brittany together. How was that possible? She put on her best fake smile. "Quinn Fabray."

"How are you?" Quinn asked.

"Peachy!" Santana was sure her voice went up two pitches too high.

"I'm getting this little guy," Brittany said lifting up her new cat.

"He's cute," Quinn said, "Fat, but cute. Just don't let him scratch up the sofa."

"Stop worrying," Brittany said, "He'll behave."

"Wait, I thought you two broke up years ago. Are you back together?" As soon as the question was out there, Santana wished she could take it back. This wasn't her business. Shit, it was like deja vu all over again.

"We're not," Brittany said quickly, "Quinn's letting me stay at her place for a while. But we're not together. Just friends."

"Well," Quinn said clapping her hand together, "This was been kind of awkward, so I'm going to go look at some more kittens. Britt, let me know when you're ready to go."

"Sure." When Quinn was gone, Brittany turned to Santana. "You have the clipboard this time."

"Life's funny like that," Santana said, glad Quinn was gone.

"Do you want to have dinner with me?" Brittany asked suddenly.

Was it possible for your heart to explode out of your chest? That was the only thing Santana could think of at the moment. "What?"

"Dinner," Brittany tried to make her voice more confident when in reality she felt like a teenager asking a girl to the prom. "To catch up. I mean, I haven't seen or talked to you since we were kids."

"We were 21, hardly kids."

"It felt like we were kids," Brittany said softly, "But we're grown ups now."

Santana let out a long breath. She had tried to act like she didn't care that Brittany was back, but she did. "You really hurt me Brittany."

"I know." Brittany squeezed her cat just a little tighter, wanting his comfort. "You really hurt me too."

"I know."

"Please have dinner with me," Brittany pleaded, "Just once and you'll never see me again, I promise."

"Don't promise that," Santana said, "We do have a few friends in common and now that you're back...don't promise that."

"So, yes?"

Santana closed her eyes needing to regroup. Here was the only girl to make her cry asking her out to dinner and even though it was only to talk, it still felt like it was too much. She opened her eyes and looked into Brittany's pleading blue ones. To this day, she had never come across eyes that shade of blue.

"OK."

"Great!" Brittany said, her smile taking over her face. "Great. Umm, right this down..."

Santana wrote Brittany's number on her clipboard.

"...Call me when and let me know when you're free," Brittany stopped herself from hugging Santana.

"Sure."

"I'm going to go fill out the paperwork for Lord Tubbington," Brittany said turning to leave, "Don't forget to call me."

Santana watched Brittany walk away and wondered if she had hallucinated the whole encounter.

-**tbc**-

* * *

**A/N: Shorter than others, sorry. Work is kicking my butt! I'll try to find more time to write I promise. Thanks for reading!**


	17. Irons

Santana stared at the paper with Brittany's number. It had been a day and she still hadn't called her. She honestly never expected to see Brittany again but the universe seemed to have a sense of humor after all.

She picked up her phone and dialed but she didn't call Brittany, she called Kristin. There was no point in dragging that relationship for much longer. The call only lasted ten minutes and by the end of it, Santana didn't have to think about her anymore. With Brittany back, she really didn't want the distraction of some other girl around her. She wanted to concentrate on figuring out how she felt about Brittany after all this time.

Seeing Brittany again had brought up all the feelings she thought she buried and it made her feel like she had traveled back in time.

Her next call was one she should have made years ago.

"Hello."

"Hey. Brittany?" Santana felt like she was sweating bullets.

"Oh, hey Santana, what's up?" Brittany shut her laptop and spun around in her chair.

"Hey, sorry I took long in calling."

"That's OK. Honestly, I didn't think you would," Brittany admitted, "I mean, you're not really good at calling people back. Or calling me back, anyway."

When Brittany had seen Santana at the fair, she had gotten caught up with the excitement of seeing her again. It was as if her brain blocked out all the bad memories about Santana and just concentrated on all the good ones. Later that night, while playing with Lord Tubbington, she let those bad memories in and let anger fill her.

"Listen Brittany," Santana began, "Before anything happens, I just…I need to apologize."

"Yeah, you do." Brittany kept her voice cool and even, "You said some really mean things to me last time we talked."

"I know, and I am sorry," Santana said, hoping her voice conveyed just how sorry she felt. "I'm sorry I ignored your calls, text, emails, smoke signals and whatever other way you tried to contact me."

Brittany took a deep breath and leaned forward in her desk. "What is it about you Santana? Why do you make me feel like I'm the bad guy and that I have to be the one to go after you?"

"I don't know," Santana said softly, "Can…can we not do this over the phone? Let's have that dinner. Tomorrow? Or tonight even. Are you free?"

"I can do tonight," Brittany said.

"Great, great, OK." Santana felt a small panic build up. "Breadstix? I bet you haven't been to one since you lived here?"

Brittany let out a small chuckle. "No, I haven't."

"Meet me there at 8? Is that OK?"

"That's fine."

"I'll see you tonight, Brittany." Santana gripped the phone, hoping that Brittany wouldn't change her mind. Now that she had had time to process everything, she knew she had to fix this somehow. Even if only to find some sort of closure between them.

"Bye Santana." Brittany hung up and opened her laptop again. She had let herself get sucked into Santana within seconds of seeing her and told herself she wouldn't do it again.

###

Brittany felt Quinn's eyes watch her as she looked at herself in the living room mirror. She had opted to just wear jeans and a blue top to keep things simple. This was just a dinner with an old acquaintance. Nothing more.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Quinn was sitting on the couch with Lord Tubbington on her lap.

Brittany went over and sat next to Quinn. "This thing with Santana feels like, I don't know, like I left my house and forgot to turn off the iron or something. You know? Like I know I turned it off, but I keep thinking I didn't, so I have to check and make sure it's off."

"OK?" Quinn looked utterly lost at what Brittany was trying to say.

"I just want to ask her some questions. I need to know…."

"You need to know if she ever had feelings for you." Quinn finished.

"Yeah," Brittany said looking at her hands.

"Is she…is Santana the reason we didn't work?"

Brittany looked up at Quinn in surprise. "No. She had nothing to do with us."

Quinn shook her head. "I know, but part of me thinks she did," Quinn said with a sad smile, "I was in love with you Britt but part of me thought I was just your consolation prize."

Brittany took Quinn's hand. "I wanted to be with you. You have to believe that, OK? You were never a consolation prize. I didn't pretend to love you. "

Quinn set Lord Tubbington aside and brought Brittany in for a hug. "Then what the hell happened to us?"

Brittany pulled back and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Maybe working together, and having too many things in common just backfired or something. Maybe we're too similar."

"Maybe," Quinn said, brushing a Brittany's cheek with her thumb. "I think we both just wanted it too much that we didn't see things clearly."

Brittany agreed. "But I don't regret being with you. Not one second."

"Me neither," Quinn said with a smile.

"If I said I wanted to get back together," Brittany began, "What would you say?"

"I'd say, I like our relationship the way it is and I don't want to lose you."

"I'd say the same thing." Brittany hugged Quinn again, "I love you."

"I love too, Britt," Quinn said with a slight laugh, "And who knows, maybe in another few years we'll be dating again or married."

Brittany let Quinn go and grinned. "Lord Tubbington can be the ring cat."

"Yeah, we'll talk details if it happens," Quinn said giving the fat cat a quick glance. "Now go. Go find out if you left the stove on."

"Iron."

"Whatever," Quinn said, "I'm still not sure what you meant."

"I'm leaving. I bet you I'm home by 10." Brittany said going to the door.

"It's a bet!"

With one last smile, Brittany left.

###

Santana checked her phone for what seemed like the hundredth time. Brittany still had five minutes to get here before Santana started to worry she had been stood up. She took another sip of water trying to sooth her dry throat and as she did, she spotted Brittany coming to her table.

"You must be super thirsty," Brittany said sitting down.

Santana tried not to choke on her water. She managed to spill a little but was able to compose herself before she could do anything embarrassing. "Hey."

Brittany smiled at Santana who looked great in her white blouse. No, Brittany thought, I won't get sucked into Santana again. "Hello."

"Hi," Santana said again. She felt like an idiot. To this day, only Brittany had made her feel like a complete dork with no game what's so ever. With every other woman she had come across, Santana had no problem coming off as a confident and assertive. Not with Brittany though.

"Did you shrink?" Brittany asked seriously.

"Excuse me?"

"For some reason I remember you being a lot taller, but you're so short," Brittany said trying to remember times when she and Santana were standing next to each other.

Santana shook her head and let out a small laugh. "You're still so weird."

"I'm just asking a question."

"No Brittany, I didn't shrink," Santana said.

The waiter came over and took their order and after he was gone, Santana spoke first. "I'm sorry for ignoring you."

"I tried," Brittany said sadly, "Even after those things you said to me, I still tried to fix it and you wouldn't try."

"I know, but I wanted to," Santana said, "I really did. But, I was just so hurt."

"Were you?" Brittany asked, "Just cause we didn't sleep together?"

"What? No." Santana said shaking her head, "I know I said I just wanted sex from you but that wasn't true."

"Can you just answer something for me?"

"Anything."

"Did you ever have feelings for me?" Brittany held her breath and watched Santana's expression soften.

"Yes." It was barely a whisper and Santana looked at Brittany to see if she had heard. "I did."

Brittany let out the breath she was holding. All she had ever wanted in college was Santana to want to be with her and felt a sadness wash over her at what could have been.

"Then why didn't you tell me?" Brittany wasn't sure if she wanted to be angry or just plain annoyed with this woman. "You knew I had a thing for you. You knew I wanted to date you. All you had to do was tell me."

"I was going to!" Santana almost shouted, "I was. That day…I went looking for you to tell you. But instead, you blindside me with moving across the country and telling me you're going to go live off happily ever after with Quinn! You're the one who who messed this up, not me."

Yeah, Brittany was sure she was angry and annoyed. "You haven't changed at all. You had so many chances before that day to ask me out and you didn't!"

Santana shook her head and crossed her arms. "You could have asked me, you know."

"How could I?" Brittany asked, trying to control her voice. Santana really was the only person who have ever gotten so angry, so quickly. "You kept trying to get in my pants and any time I brought up dating, you said no."

Santana scoffed. She thought that after six years, time would have somehow fixed everything and they could somehow start over. She was wrong. Time hadn't fixed anything, it had just put things on hold. "It didn't matter. If you really wanted to be with me, you would have fought harder. Instead you chose what was easier."

"Don't put this on me," Brittany said shaking her head, "It wasn't just me."

The waiter returned with their food and the bottle of wine Santana had ordered before Brittany had arrived. He opened the bottle and poured two glasses before he left.

Brittany picked up the wine and took a long drink. This dinner was not going as she thought it would. She couldn't understand how Santana could easily get her blood boiling in anger. Brittany wanted to strangle her and hug her all at the same time.

"I told you," Santana said, "I told you you'd get bored with Quinn."

"Don't," Brittany warned, "You don't know anything about my relationship with Quinn."

"I know you didn't last," Santana shot back.

"From what I remember, you said we wouldn't last a month," Brittany said through gritted teeth, "We lasted almost two years. You and I probably would have lasted a month."

Santana put her fork down, exasperated. She didn't want to fight. "You're probably right. I mean, fuck! Why is it so hard with you? I feel like I'm constantly fighting a storm."

"How the hell do you fight a storm?"

"Never mind," Santana said, "Look, I thought I let what happened go. I thought I buried it in my stor…I thought I was over it. But seeing you again feels like no time has passed."

"Well, it did," Brittany said softly. She took a bite of her ravioli.

"So what now?" Santana asked. She had never felt so lost.

Brittany shrugged her shoulders. "I had feelings for you, but I couldn't be what you wanted me to be then. I couldn't be your friend with benefits."

"And I couldn't be the girlfriend you wanted," Santana added.

"Are you the girlfriend of someone now?" Brittany asked carefully.

"No," Santana admitted, "There was someone. Sort of. I mean, we only started dating two weeks ago, but it was nothing. Truth be told, I've never really had what'd you'd classify as a serious relationship."

"Ever?" Brittany asked, surprised. "But you're like a famous author now, you must have women hanging all over you. I'm sure one of them would have…"

"No," Santana interrupted, "The last time I even thought about being in a relationship…it didn't go my way."

Brittany looked down at her food. They both ate their dinner quietly for while, each lost in their own thoughts.

Santana finally broke the silence. "I saw your horror movie."

Brittany looked up at Santana, surprised. "'Blood-A-Thon Madness'? You saw it?"

"Yeah," Santana said with a small smile, "The writing was awful, but you did a good job directing."

"It did suck," Brittany chuckled, "But I'm still super proud of it. Umm, did you…"

"The credits? Yeah, I saw the dedication."

"No matter what happened between us," Brittany said, "I am really grateful to you for helping me graduate. I owe my career to you."

"No you don't," Santana said, "You would have been a success without me."

"Thank you," Brittany said again and Santana just nodded. "I wish I could say I read your books, but I didn't."

"Oh, uh, that's OK," Santana said, feeling a twinge of disappointment run through her. She sort of figured Brittany hadn't read her books, because if she had, Brittany would have no doubt figured out the last short story of her first book was all about them.

"I just couldn't," Brittany said.

"It's OK," Santana assured.

They finished dinner and opted not to have dessert. Instead they had another glass of wine.

"So is this it?" Brittany asked, "What now? I mean, it's not like we'll run into each other at school anymore. I don't need tutoring. There's nothing keeping us together."

Santana listened to Brittany and sadly realized she was right. They could just part ways and just see each other at one of Rachel's parties or some other function one of their friends had. Looking at Brittany now, Santana knew she didn't want that to happen. They had lost six years and, despite the mess they were in, Santana had missed Brittany.

"I'd like to try again," Santana said, "To be friends. Everything I said back then, I didn't mean it. It wasn't just about sex with you. I wanted it to be about sex because it was less scary that way, but it was more. I wanted to be with you and I was willing to give being in a relationship a try."

Brittany slowly put her glass down. "You have horrible timing. We both do."

"No shit," Santana said with a slight laugh. She stopped laughing when she saw Brittany didn't join her. "It feels like we…like our relationship, whatever that my be, is hanging off a cliff and no one knows if it'll fall off or get pulled back up."

"Like the iron," Brittany said more to herself than Santana.

"What iron?"

"Nothing."

Santana took in a breath. "Are you currently anyone's girlfriend now?"

"No." Brittany wasn't sure what was happening, but she felt herself getting warm at Santana's question. "Why?"

"You asked me, so I figured I'd ask you," Santana explained. "No crushes on anyone? Nothing like that?"

Brittany shook her head. "I sort of put a stop to crushes after you and Quinn. It seemed silly."

"It's not silly," Santana said slowly. "I'm sorry about what I said about you and Quinn. You're right, I don't know anything about you two. I mean, for all I know you're still in love with her."

"I'll always love Quinn."

Santana forced herself to smile. "Maybe you guys can work things out and try again."

"What are you doing?" Brittany asked.

Santana tried to seem casual. "What?"

"Quinn and I aren't getting back together," Brittany said, "At least, not now. I mean, maybe it could happen and Lord Tubbington will hold the rings, but maybe it won't. I don't know. But right now? Today? No. Quinn and I are just friends and that's it."

Santana just nodded. She really didn't mean to bring up Brittany's relationship with Quinn and the last thing she wanted was for them to work things out. Everything with Brittany felt so unfinished. There was no closure and Santana needed there to be. For years, she had that unanswered question in the back of her mind. Would she and Brittany have worked out? She needed an answer.

The waiter came back to the table and brought them the check. Both women reached for it.

"I got it," Brittany said putting her credit card in the leather folder, "I asked you to dinner, remember?"

As they walked out into the crisp night, Brittany felt like her time with Santana was coming to a final end. She still had more questions but she told herself that she was done making the first move. She had already tried too many times.

When they reached the parking lot, they stopped.

"I'm parked this way," Santana said pointing to the far right of the lot. "Where are you?"

"Oh, I'm not parked," Brittany said, "I don't have a car. I told my parents to sell my old car since I didn't think I'd ever need it. But now, I have to buy a new one."

"How did you get here?"

"The bus."

"The bus?!" Santana was actually shocked.

"What's wrong with the bus?" Brittany asked. "I rode the bus and subway in New York all the time. And I even took the bus when I lived here. There are some really interesting people on the bus."

"Yeah, no," Santana said, "Come on. I'm giving you a ride."

"No, you don't have to. I can…."

"No way." Santana reached for Brittany's hand and pulled her in the direction of her car. "I could have picked you up. You didn't have to take the bus."

"You make it sound like the bus is evil or something," Brittany said. She looked down at Santana's hand gripping her own and just let herself by lead. Santana's hands felt just like she remembered.

"Because it is!" Santana managed to get them to her car pretty quickly. She was well aware of holding Brittany's hand the whole way and she didn't want to let go. She saw the memory of that night in the parking lot of that Mexican restaurant flash in her mind. "Here we go." Santana turned around to face Brittany and saw her staring at their still joined hands. Santana let go. "Sorry."

"It's OK," Brittany said softly. She looked past Santana at the car. "Wow. BMW? Look at you rich lady."

Santana let out a laugh, relieved that Brittany didn't feel weird about the hand hold. "It's not that fancy."

"It's fancy," Brittany said. She waited for Santana to unlock the car and when she didn't, Brittany wondered if Santana had changed her mind about the ride.

"Before we go," Santana began, "I need to know…."

"What?"

"If I had…if I had had the guts to admit to myself, and you, we were more than just….What I'm trying to ask is…"

"Would I have picked you if you had admitted your feelings sooner," Brittany finished.

Santana nodded.

"Yes."

Santana crossed her arms and tried to calm her rapidly beating heart. "If…if I had tried to reach out to you after you left….if I had gone to New York with Kurt and told you. Would you have left Quinn?"

Brittany bit her lip. She didn't want to lie, but she wasn't sure what the truth was either. "I…I don't know. Quinn was everything I needed then….I just don't know."

"Right. Sorry," Santana said, uncrossing her arms and unlocking the car. "That wasn't a fair question."

"I'm sorry you got hurt when I didn't pick you," Brittany said, "I am. But, we just weren't driving in the same direction."

"No, we weren't," Santana admitted. She turned to go the the driver's seat and got in. She waited for Brittany to get in before staring the car.

Brittany settled in the leather seat and put on her seat belt. "Remember last time we were in a car in the parking lot of a restaurant?"

Santana looked over and smiled. "Yeah."

"That feels like a million years ago," Brittany said wistfully.

"To me it feels like it happened yesterday." Santana swallowed and watched Brittany's reaction.

"How did we get so messed up?" Brittany wondered.

Santana ran her hand through her hair. "I don't know. What I do know is that we're in the same town again. We're adults with careers and know where our lives are headed. I don't want to be that person you wave to at parties."

"Of course I'd wave," Brittany said, "I don't what to be rude."

"No," Santana said with a smile, "I mean, I don't want us to be those people who run into each other from time to time and all we do is make small talk." Santana shifted in her seat and faced Brittany. "I should have tried to fix this too, but I didn't. So, I want to try now. I really thought I had put our relationship behind me, but seeing you at the fair….it hit me how much I missed you."

"I missed you too." Brittany felt her eyes slightly water and hoped that Santana didn't notice.

Santana quickly wiped a way a small tear. "I'd like to get to know you again. You know, get to know the grown up Brittany S. Pierce."

"I'm still the same," Brittany said, "I just have a cool job now."

Santana let out a laugh.

"Maybe you're not the same," Brittany went on, "College Santana probably wouldn't be talking about her feelings so much."

"No, she wouldn't." Santana kept a small smile on her face. "So, what do you say?"

"I say, yes." Brittany was smiling too.

"Great!" Santana felt a huge sense of relief wash over her. "When are you free? Do you want to come by the school and I can show you how I took it over."

"You're like ruler of ULA now right?"

"Not yet," Santana teased, "My title says I'm head of the English department, but there are a few others too. I'm more concentrated on the Literature department. I'm not on the board yet, but in a few years I will be."

"You really are the smartest person I've ever met," Brittany said with pride in her voice, "I bet you're everyone's favorite teacher."

"I doubt that." Santana was starting to feel a bit embarrassed by Brittany's praise. Some things just never changed. "I'm kind of a hard ass to them."

"I'd love to see that," Brittany said, sounding very interested, "Do you teach tomorrow? I still have a few days before I start full time at the studio. I'm just reading scripts now."

"Tomorrow's perfect," Santana said. She turned back in her seat and pulled the car out of the parking lot. "Holly will probably be at school, so you can see her too."

"I saw her the day of the fair," Brittany said, "But I can never get enough of Holly."

The rest of the ride, they talked about the school and the changes that had happened since Brittany left. For the first time all night, they both felt more relaxed and comfortable around each other.

Santana pulled up in front of Quinn's house and parked her car. "Is it weird living with Quinn?"

"Not at all," Brittany said unbuckling her seatbelt, "I love being around her. She's fun."

"I remember you saying that in college too," Santana said, "About Quinn being fun. I just don't see that at all."

"You should get to know her," Brittany suggested, "Now that, you know, now that we're all older and wiser. Like owls."

Santana couldn't help but laugh. "Do you still like those animal ties?"

"I have like 20 of them," Brittany admitted, "Those never go out of style."

"If you say so."

Brittany and Santana stared at each other longer than either intended.

"I should go," Brittany said, "What time should I be at the school?"

"10 is good," Santana said, "Met me in my office. It's in the English department."

"Yeah, I kinda figured that."

Santana unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to face Brittany. "Thanks for dinner. I'm sorry I took this long to try to fix things."

"At least it happened," Brittany said. She knew she should get out of the car but her body didn't want to move.

Santana leaned forward and reached to bring Brittany in for a hug. "I'll see you tomorrow." She breathed in and the smell of Brittany's hair filled her nostrils. It smelled better than she remembered. The intoxicating smell flooded her with every memory she had of Brittany and made Santana feel flush.

Brittany was a little taken aback by Santana's hug, but she gave in and wrapped her arms tight around her neck. There was that perfume Santana wore she loved so much. Not perfume, Brittany thought, it was just regular body wash. It was just Santana. "I'll see you tomorrow." Brittany repeated.

They slowly pulled back and stopped when their eyes met.

Even in the darkness, Santana could see the blue in Brittany's eyes. A blue she had missed. She felt her breath quicken slightly and fought the urge to lean forward and kiss Brittany's lips. Everything was coming back to her. Memories, feelings and desires.

Brittany couldn't stop her eyes from glancing at Santana's lips. She remembered kissing them and how soft they had felt. Would they fell the same now, she wondered. She looked up into Santana's dark eyes and her breath catch in her throat and had to force herself from getting lost in them.

"You're the only one who's ever made me cry," Santana said softly.

"Sorry," Brittany whispered.

"Don't be," Santana said, "I think I needed it. I'm sorry I made you cry. I didn't mean..."

"I know," Brittany said.

Santana moved up and placed a kiss on Brittany's forehead, "I still feel something for you Brittany. Maybe it's just lingering unresolved feelings from years ago or maybe it's more. But I want to find out."

"Me too," Brittany said. She moved her hand to caress Santana's cheek. "I want to see if I left the iron on."

"Why do you keep talking about irons?" Santana asked confused.

"Forget it," Brittany said and pulled back further. "I'll see you tomorrow, OK?"

"OK," Santana said as she sat back in her seat. "So, there's no one else, right?"

"There's no one," Brittany assured. She opened the car door and got out.

Santana waved and watched as Brittany disappeared inside the house. She was going to do things differently this time.

###

Brittany went straight to the living room and saw Quinn surrounded by scripts while Lord Tubbington lay curled on on the floor. "Hey."

Quinn looked up. "Uh oh. Back before 10. It didn't go well?"

Brittany went to the couch and removed a pile of scripts and sat down. "It went OK. It was rough at first but we made plans to met tomorrow. I'm going to the school to watch her teach."

"That sounds like fun," Quinn said, "Did you get your questions answered?"

Brittany nodded. "We're going to try to fix things."

"So you guys are going to try dating?"

"Oh, no!" Brittany said, "Nothing like that. I mean, she did say she still felt something for me and wants to see what that is. But for now, we're going to try to fix our friendship."

"Hmm." Quinn went back to reading the script in her hand.

"What?" Brittany asked, "Is it weird for me to talk about Santana with you?"

Quinn put the script down. "No, sweetie. I'm fine. We went out like four years ago, I'm over you. It's not that at all."

"What is it then?"

"I just don't want to see you get hurt," Quinn said, "You should have seen your face light up when you saw her at the fair. I know that look because you used to look at me like that. But if you still get that look after not seeing Santana for six years, then your feelings for her were more than just a crush."

"Maybe," Brittany said slowly. "I guess we'll find out."

"I'm here for you," Quinn offered, "You don't have to feel weird talking about Santana with me. It took a lot of work, but we're past that, right?"

"Yeah, we are," Brittany said with a smile. She picked up a script. "OK. Let's find us a movie that will make New Directions Studios awesome again."

They spent the rest of the night trying to find the movie that would put their studio on the map again.

###

Santana sat behind her desk trying to control the excitement she felt. Brittany would be coming to the school today.

After she had gotten home from their dinner she immediately called Kurt and told him what had happened.

"I'm sorry, is this a phone call from the past?" Kurt had joked.

Santana had to admit that the whole situation was kind of funny. She really thought she'd never see Brittany again and yet, the filmmaker was back in her life. Santana had told Kurt about trying to fix her relationship with Brittany and find out how she felt after all this time.

Something was there. Santana was sure of it. How else could she, after six years, still wanting to make things right with Brittany. She had never wanted to try this hard with any other person. As soon as things got too rough, she was out. But with Brittany, she knew she wanted to try, especially after ignoring all of Brittany's attempts to communicate with her. That willingness, told Santana she felt more for Brittany than she had for anyone.

She just wished she would have realized this sooner.

Her assistant's voice through intercom interrupted her thoughts.

_"Santana, Brittany Pierce is here to see you."_

Santana ran her hand through her hair and straightened her blouse. "Send her in." She was nervous.

Brittany smiled at the man behind the desk as she walked past him to Santana's office. "Hi."

"Hi," Santana said, unable to stop the smile on her face. She got up from behind her desk and went to greet her guest. But when she reached Brittany, Santana wasn't sure if she should hug her or just shake her hand. "Umm, hi."

Brittany smiled. Despite what had happened last night, there was still a sense of awkwardness around them. "I like your office."

"Thanks." Santana stepped back, neither hugging nor shaking Brittany's hand and turned to face her decent size office. "I was so excited when they gave it to me. It felt like I had truly made it at this school."

Brittany looked around and took it all in. There were books everywhere neatly organized and a few awards displayed throughout the office. Santana's desk was a dark wood and her big leather chair kind of looked like a throne.

Santana walked over to her leather chair. "Kurt got this for me. It's a little over the top for an English teacher, but it's really comfortable and I couldn't say no to Kurt."

"It's cool," Brittany said, "It's like you're Queen of Books."

Santana let out an embarrassed laugh. "I should put that on my business cards."

"You did it," Brittany said, proudly, "You said you'd get a job here and you did. It's amazing."

"Thanks," Santana said, "You're doing what you want too. You're working at a studio..."

"A failing studio."

"For now," Santana went on, "You'll turn it around and make great movies."

"Well see," Brittany said taking a seat, "Quinn and I are reading so many scripts right now and we still can't find a good one. "

"And you guys want Rachel right?" Santana took a seat as well.

"Quinn does. She thinks Rachel is talented and just famous enough."

"What does that mean?" Santana asked.

"Hollywood talk," Brittany said, "Maybe when I go back full time, you can visit me."

"I'd love that," Santana said. She felt better knowing that they'd at least have another chance to see each other. There were only so many times Santana felt like she could ask Brittany out to dinner before it got repetitive. Visiting Brittany at her studio was different and a step in the right direction.

Brittany felt like any awkwardness they had when she first got here was gone. Santana was different. She seemed more open somehow and Brittany liked it and hoped it didn't go away. Looking at Santana sitting behind her desk made Brittany feel that tingle in the pit of her stomach she had felt almost eight years ago when she had first seen her. She still couldn't understand how she could still feel that, after all this time.

"I'm going to read your books," Brittany said, "As soon as I find a script, I'll read them."

Santana immediately thought of the story she had written in her first book. If Brittany read that story now, it may undo some of the progress they had done. "Don't. I mean, don't worry about it. You concentrate on your scripts. My stories aren't going anywhere."

"Maybe we can turn one of your storis into a movie!" Brittany felt like she just had the best idea. "I haven't read them, but I bet you they're amazing. We could get a script writer too write them, with your approval of course."

"Britt, stop." Santana loved that Brittany believed in her work so much without even having read anything. "I did that already. I mean, when my first book came out, some Hollywood guy wanted to turn some of my stories into TV miniseries or something. I ended up converting one into script form. The Hollywood guy said it coud be great if I changed some things. I said I didn't want to change anything and that was that. Anyway, my work is meant to stay in books."

"Oh, OK," Brittany said, "Can I read it?"

Santana's eyes widened. The script she had written was based on the story about them. The story Santana didn't want Brittany to read just yet. Santana wasn't ashamed of the story, it really was one of her best ones but Brittany, or more accurately, the character based on Brittany, was the bad guy. Not only that, but the character based on herself, had turned into en emotional wreck towards the end. The story did not have a happy ending and that was the reason Hollywood had passed. Apparently, no one wants to see a movie where no ones lives happily ever after in the end.

"If I can find it," Santana lied, "It was a long time ago, I don't even know where I put it."

"Look for it," Brittany said, excitement in her voice, "I won't make you change anything."

"We'll see." Santana got up. "Come on. I have class in 10 minutes and you can watch me be a total hard-ass to some defenseless Freshmen."

Half an hour into Santana's class, Brittany still couldn't tear her eyes away from Santana. The rather large lecture hall was packed but Brittany managed to find a seat near the front right. Santana turned into a totally different person in front of the class. Santana was in her element. She was confident, smart and authoritative. It really was one of the sexiest things Brittany had ever seen. She looked around at the students and noticed some leering at Santana and let out a small chuckle. I don't blame then, she thought.

When Santana dismissed the class, Brittany stayed in her seat and waited until the last student left. "That was the best class ever." And just like that, Brittany saw Teacher Santana disappear.

"I try," Santana said with a smile.

Brittany got up and walked down the short stair case and joined Santana at her desk. "You know like half your class has a crush on you."

"No, they don't," Santana said rolling her eyes. She began putting her stuff away.

"They do!" Brittany leaned her hip against the desk and watched Santana pack her things. "They were like, practically undressing you with their eyes."

Santana scrunched up her nose. "Gross."

"It's easy to get a crush on you," Brittany said, "I speak from experience."

Santana stopped putting her things away and looked up. "Did you really have a crush on me for two years before meeting me?"

Brittany smiled and nodded.

"I wish I had seen you too. I mean, the first time you saw me. I wish I had seen you too." Santana felt her throat constrict a bit. She wasn't used to being so open with her feelings, but she was going to be. For Brittany. "Actually, I wish I had met you during Freshman year. Before I became the poster girl for the school. Before you met Jesse and Quinn. Before I went on my serial dating spree."

Brittany heard the regret in Santana's voice and felt something tug at her chest. Santana meant what she was saying. Brittany moved closer to Santana and felt the overwhelming need to hug her. So she did.

Santana dropped her bag on the desk and hugged Brittany back. She closed her eyes and nestled her face in Brittany's neck, smelling the sweet scent of her hair and skin. A rush of memories hit her. It was scary how her sense of smell could trigger so many memories and feelings.

Brittany squeezed Santana tighter and brought her lips to Santana's ear. "Me too."

Santana felt a shiver as Brittany's breath hit her ear. She pulled back and hovered her lips over Brittany's. This wasn't the time. It was too fast. They had only started to fix things last night but the need to kiss Brittany was taking over. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to will herelf from closing the small gap.

Brittany lightly licked her lips. She should let go, she should just leave but instead she let out a small breath and ever so lightly kissed Santana's lips. When she felt Santana start to lean forward and press their lips harder, Brittany pulled back. "Sorry. I shouldn't have..."

Santana brought her hand to cup Brittany's cheeks. "It's OK." She felt like she couldn't control her breathing. "I want to kiss you, so much but we can't...can't pretend like nothing happened."

"I know," Brittany agreed, her breath mingling with Santana's. "Maybe it's, umm, old feelings, like you said. Maybe we're just, like skipping right to the end of the movie too fast."

Santana placed another small kiss on Brittany's lips. Kissing Brittany was better than she remembered and if she didn't stop now, she wouldn't be able to. With one last breath Santana let Brittany go and stepped back.

Brittany saw the flush in Santana's cheeks and was sure her face was just as red. "I should go."

Santana nodded. "It's probably a good idea."

Brittany gave Santana a shy smile and turned toward the door.

"Brittany."

"Yeah?"

"I...do...umm." Santana took a breath to calm herelf. "Do you want to go see a movie or something? Or not. Movies are your job, you probably don't want to go to the movies...we could...umm... play paintball or something instead?"

Brittany let out an amused chuckle. "Paintball? That actually sounds awesome."

"Great!" Santana said, instantly regretting her suggestion. Where the hell did I get paintball from, she wondered.

"Maybe it could be a group thing," Brittany suggested, "With everyone. Mercedes wanted to plan a dinner as a welcome back party but I think paintball would be more fun than a boring dinner."

"Umm, sure." Santana said.

"We could do this group thing first," Brittany said, "Then do another thing with..."

"Just us." Santana said witha smile.

"Less pressure and we get to know each other again." Brittany was loving her idea. Not only would she get to hang out with Santana and her old friends, there would be less of a chance of her just grabbing Santana and kissing her. "I'll tell Mercedes."

"I guess I'll reserve a team," Santana said, "Or whatever it is you reserve."

Brittany let out a small giggle and continued to walk tot the door. When she opened it she turned back to Santana. "Look for that script, OK? I won't read your books until you want me to but I really want to read that script. It could be the movie that saves New Directions."

Santana nodded and watched Brittany leave. She knew exactly were that script was and had no intention of showing it to Brittany. Not yet.

Santana finished packing her things and walked out the door.

"Paintball? What the fuck are you thinking?" she asked herelf. She'd neve played paintball in her life.

-**tbc**-


	18. Devil's Spawn

"Say what?"

Brittany bit her lip and watched Mercedes give her a look between shock and annoyance. Brittany had gone over to Mercedes' apartment for lunch. "Paintball. It'll be fun."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Mercedes seemed to be getting mad. "I don't paintball. What the hell happened to a nice dinner? I was thinking we could have it at Mrs. Fabray's restaurant. A nice, sit down dinner. No paint anywhere!"

"Come on, Mercedes," Brittany practically begged, "It's way more fun than a boring dinner. And Santana really seemed to want to do it."

Mercedes' face relaxed. "So that whole Santana thing is happening? Again?"

"It never happened the first time," Brittany said, "But we somehow got a second chance and I don't want to blow this. It's different this time. She's different and so am I. I just….I can't mess this up. Please."

Mercedes let out a huff of air. "You never got over her, huh? Even while you were with Quinn and the guys and girls you dated after."

"Santana and I never got a chance to start," Brittany explained, "I want to start it now. She still makes me feel like I can do anything and I get all tingly around her. She makes me feel scared but in a good, exciting way. You know?"

"I hope she did change," Mercedes said, "Because if she hurts you again I will kick her ass this time. But fine. If this paintball thing will finally put an end to the Santana Saga, I'll do it."

"Yay! OK, so just invite everyone from college, "Brittany said ,"Don't forget Mike. I think Quinn told him today she's his new boss. I wish I could have seen that."

"What about you?" Mercedes asked, "When do you go in?"

"Soon. And I can't wait," Brittany said, "I want to find a good script and start filming. Everything we've gotten sucks. It's mostly stupid romantic comedies or over the top action movies."

"Action movies make money," Mercedes said.

Brittany wondered. "Did you ever read Santana's books?"

"Umm, I read half of the first one," Mercedes said, "It was really good. I just never got around to finishing it. I got so busy with work I never went back to it. I think I still have it bookmarked where I left off. Why?"

"Santana wrote a script." Brittany almost laughed when she saw Mercedes' eyebrows shoot up. "I haven't read it, but I know it's good. I want to make her script into my next movie. She says she doesn't know where it is, but I think she's lying. Santana is like the most organized person ever. She knows were it is. I think she's just embarrasses she wrote it. I'm going to try to convince her to let me read it."

"Britt, it could suck," Mercedes said.

Brittany shook her head. "No way. Santana is an amazing writer. I know it's good."

"I think you're biased." Mercedes shook her head in amusement and went to her computer. "Alright. I guess it's time to Google paintball and see what the hell you got me into this time."

Brittany was definitely excited. Moving back to L.A. was the best decision she had made in a long time.

###

Santana watched as Sam grabbed his stomach as he laughed. She wanted to punch him. "Would you shut up and focus!"

Sam wiped the tears from his eyes and finally stopped laughing enough to talk. "Why the hell did you suggest paintball? I don't think your designer shoes will survive the mud."

"Mud? Wait, there's mud?" Santana groaned. After work, she had gone over to Sam's office to find out what the hell paintball entailed. She knew she could count on Sam to help her out.

Sam had gotten his doctorate in Psychology and had decided to take a job with the L.A. school district as one of the field psychologist for troubled youths. He loved his job and Santana admired him for his dedication to the kids.

"Just call her up," Sam said, "Tell her paintball was a bad idea and take her on a romantic dinner or something."

"I can't!" Santana said, "She loved the idea of paintball and even said that Mercedes was planning a, quote - 'boring dinner' - and that paintball sounded more fun. I don't want to bore her."

"So this is like a group date?"

"It's not a date," Santana corrected, "Not really. It's more of a welcome home thing for her. And Quinn, I guess. But the issue is that I can't paintball! It's dirty and I'm sure it hurts like hell."

"Oh it does," Sam said, "I always come home covered in bruises. But enough about that, so Quinn is going to this thing to?"

Santana didn't hide her surprise. "Are you serious? You're still with that? Aren't you dating Mandy or Melinda or whatever that girl's name is?"

"That was over last month," Sam said, "Anyway, I'm just asking. She's still into dudes too right?"

"She told me she was," Santana said said.

"Just checking," Sam said, "All I know about Quinn is that she dated Brittany for like five years…"

"Less than two," Santana corrected.

"Fine. Less than two years, and maybe she realized she's a full time lady lover since I last saw her. I don't want to look like an idiot or make her uncomfortable."

"You could do so much…." Santana stopped talking. She thought about Brittany living with Quinn and all sorts of scenarios jumped in her mind. Scenarios that involved the two blonds getting back together and Santana being left out in the cold. Again. If she could help steer Quinn in the direction of the blond sitting in front of her, she'd feel a lot better. "You know what? Go for it. You and Quinn would be adorable together."

Sam leaned back in his chair and shook his head. "You're only saying that because you want to keep Quinn away from Brittany. You think they'll get back together again."

Santana rolled her eyes. "I fucking hate when you go all Freud on me."

"It's my job," Sam smiled. "And I know how you think. Look, let me take care of the arrangements for this paintball adventure. I can get a great deal. And don't worry about Brittany, OK? If it's meant to be, it will."

"It's hard not to worry," Santana said, "You have no idea how much I want this to work with Brittany. I don't want to mess it up again."

"You won't," Sam said.

Santana scoffed. "You underestimate my ability to mess up my love life. I have a knack for it."

"You'll be fine," Sam said with a reassuring smile. "Just be yourself. I mean, it's been six years. You're both not the same person you were back in college. You weren't ready then, but I think you are now."

"I am," Santana said softly. "I'm ready."

###

Brittany had resisted the urge to call Santana all day. They had just talked yesterday but it felt a lot longer. She couldn't resist anymore. She wanted to hear Santana's voice, so she picked up her phone and dialed. Santana picked up on the second ring.

"Hey!"

"I'm not bothering you am I?" Brittany asked. She wasn't sure of Santana's schedule but she had figured she'd just leave a message if she didn't pick up.

"No, not at all," Santana said. She leaned back in her office chair and smiled. "I was going to call you later, actually."

"Oh, should we hang up and you call me later?"

"No, no," Santana said with a light laugh, "I'm glad you called now. I just wanted to wait until Sam got back to me with information on the paintball stuff."

"Oh yay!" Brittany was actually getting excited about this outing. "Do you think we can do it this weekend? I start back at the studio Monday so I'm not sure how my schedule will be after that."

"The sooner the better," Santana said, "I just want to see you again." Santana closed her eyes and took a breath. She told herself she wouldn't hold anything back from Brittany this time. Last time she had kept her feelings hidden she had pushed Brittany into the arms of another person.

Brittany smiled and was sure she was blushing. She was glad only Lord Tubbington was around to see her reaction. "I want to see you again too."

"Do you want to meet me for a drink later?" Santana asked. "And I'll pick you up. No more bus!"

Brittany let our a chuckle. "That sounds great…." Brittany stopped talking when she saw Lord Tubbington start to chew up a script. "….No! Lord Tubbington stop that! That's not a hamburger!"

Santana moved her phone away from her ear a little. "Britt?"

"….Those aren't scratching posts either!"

"Britt?"

Brittany managed to calm Lord Tubbignton and he scurried off to his bed in the far corner. At least he has the decency to look ashamed, Brittany thought. She put the phone back to her ear. "Sorry. Lord Tubbington was misbehaving."

"I told you that cat was the Devil's Spawn," Santana said, "I can contact the animal shelter and have them take him back."

"What?" Brittany was surprised at the suggestion. "Santana. I'm not going to give him back. I adopted him. It's not like I bought shoes that I can return with the receipt."

Santana mentally cursed herself. Of course Brittany wouldn't give him back, she loved animals. Especially cats. "Sorry. You're right."

"He's just adjusting," Brittany went on, "I mean, who knows what life he had before. He just needs time to get used to me and his new home."

"I shouldn't have suggested that," Santana said, "I don't know if you remember but I'm not much of an animal person."

"I remember," Brittany said, "How about when you pick me up, you come in and we can hang out with Lord Tubbington a little bit so you can get to know him."

"Uh…." Santana wanted to say no. Hang out with a cat? It's not like the cat would even care she's there. "Umm…."

"Please," Brittany encouraged, "I want you two to be buddies."

Shit, Santana thought. "I'd love to." She shook her head and couldn't believe she just agreed to hang out with a damn cat. "I'll be by at five. Is that a good time for you?"

"It's a great time!"

Santana was about to hang up when she remembered Brittany lived with Quinn. She just didn't want to deal with her right now. "Umm, will Quinn be there? It'd be nice to say hello to her too." Liar, Santana thought, you're a lying liar.

"No, she probably won't get home from work until like seven," Brittany said, "But maybe you guys can hang out another time."

"Sure," Santana forced herself to say. "Alright Brittany, I have class soon so I have to go. I'll be there at five."

"I can't wait," Brittany said, "I'll tell Lord Tubbington you're coming. I bet he'll be super excited."

"Umm, yeah. Great." They hung up and as Santana walked to her class she tried to figure out if Brittany was joking about her cat or if she was serious.

"She's still so weird," Santana whispered to herself and smiled.

###

After her last class, Sam had called Santana to tell her everything was set up for their paintball adventure this weekend. He had even coordinated with Mercedes and it seemed everyone was all set to go. She didn't know how it happened, but Santana had managed to get others to plan her sort of first date with Brittany.

That didn't matter though. What mattered was spending time with Brittany and trying to figure out how she wouldn't make a complete idiot of herself playing paintball.

Santana parked her car in Quinn's empty driveway. Out of all the activities out there she picked paintball. She groaned. She blamed her students. Earlier in the day she had overheard two guys in her class arguing over paintball strategies and it must have gotten stuck in her subconscious.

She got out of the car and went up to the front door. She'd figure out all that paintball stuff later. Right now she was meeting Brittany. And a fat cat.

Brittany heard the doorbell and quickly went to answer the door. She opened it to find Santana dressed in a stylish skirt and blazer. "Oh wow. You look amazing!"

Santana let out a nervous chuckle and looked down at he outfit. "It's just my work clothes."

Brittany unabashedly looked Santana up and down. "See, that's why all your students have crushes on you. I never had hot teachers. Most of them were old and bald."

"Oh God," Santana said with an embarrassed laugh. Santana knew she was hot, people told her that all the time, but when Brittany said it, she felt embarrassed. "I'm over-dressed." And she was, compared to Brittany who was just wearing form fitting jeans, flip-flops and a T-shirt with a shooting star on the front.

Brittany stepped aside. "Come in."

Santana walked past Brittany into the house. Immediately in front of her was a staircase and to her right the living room. It was a medium size Spanish style home that looked like it had recently been remodeled. "This place is nice. Is Quinn renting?"

"Nope," Brittany said, closing the door, "It's her mom's house. Or one of them anyway. But it's Quinn's now. Come on." Brittany took Santana's hand and lead her to the living room. "Sit."

Santana sat down on the couch and held on to Brittany's hand, who was still standing. "Aren't you going to sit with me?"

"I'm going to get Lord Tubbington," Brittany said. She felt herself smile and felt incredibly shy all of a sudden.

Santana returned the smile and lightly tugged Brittany's hand and pulled her forward until she sat down next to her. "Hi."

Brittany grinned and looked into Santana's eyes. "Hi."

"The cat can wait a bit," Santana said, softly, "I'm sure he's plotting to raid the fridge in the middle of the night."

"I knew it." Brittany said in such a disapproving tone that is caused Santana to chuckle.

"You're just as adorable as I remember," Santana said. She saw Brittany's checks turn a pink shade and her smile grew.

Brittany lightly squeezed hand. "He really is sneaky. You'll see."

"Mmmm hmm." Santana desperately wanted to kiss this woman in front of her but wasn't sure if they were there yet. They had sort of kissed in her classroom but that was more of a peck. Santana figured she should at least wait until their first date before….

Brittany made the mistake of looking at Santana's mouth. As soon as she did, she leaned forward and captured Santana's plump lower lip in between her own, startling Santana.

Santana only took a few seconds to process what was happening before she let go of Brittany's hand and wrapped her arms around Brittany's neck, bringing her closer. This is what she'd been wanting to do for the last couple of days. No, not days. Years. Santana leaned back on the couch, bringing Brittany with her and deepening the kiss.

Brittany smiled into the kiss and wrapped her arms around Santana's waist. She knew that she wouldn't be able to control herself much longer, not after what happened in the classroom. There was just so much time to make up for. Brittany opened her mouth a bit more and ran her tongue along Santana's lower lip. It tasted as sweet as she remembered.

Santana was sure she moaned. She opened her mouth more and invited Brittany's tongue with her own. It was Brittany's turn to let out a moan. Their hot tongues began to caress each other wanting to explore every inch. Santana didn't want to stop but her breathing was becoming a bit erratic and she didn't want this to get too out of control. "Britt…"

Brittany pulled back slightly, keeping their lips touching. "Mmmm.." She felt like she couldn't get enough air. "Last time we made out on a couch you were on top…of me. Remember?"

"Of course I do," Santana said. She nibbled on Brittany's lower lip before talking again. "I…I want nothing more than to kiss you all night but…maybe, maybe we should go on a date first."

Brittany pulled back further. "Isn't this a date? You came to pick me up and are taking me out for drinks. If this isn't a date, then, you're right we shouldn't be making out." Brittany began to get up when she felt Santana pull her back down and kiss her again.

"You're mean," Santana teased before capturing Brittany's lips again. Santana signed and let herself relax and let every feeling she had ever had for Brittany back in. She knew immediately that this wasn't just left over feeling from years ago. This was more. She knew she wanted to be with Brittany in every way.

Brittany was sure she was dreaming. How else could she explain kissing Santana again after all this time and explain how amazing it felt. Every bad thing that had happened between them disappeared and only the good was left and a promise of more good things to come. This was more than a simple crush and Brittany knew it. Santana was the one she was supposed to be with both back then and now.

"Ouch!" Santana quickly pulled back and looked down at her ankle which was now bleeding. Right next to it was one Devil's Spawn.

He hissed.

"Lord Tubbington!" Brittany quickly bent down and picked up her cat and moved him away from Santana. "I'm so sorry!"

"What the fuck?" Santana looked down at her ankle and saw her torn stocking. "Where the hell did he come from?"

Brittany placed her cat on the other side of the couch, away from Santana. "What is wrong with you?" She chastised, "Santana is my friend and she came here to meet you." Lord Tubbington just stared at her. Then yawned.

"Are you sure you still want to keep him?" Santana asked. She looked at her wound and realized it wasn't as bad as she first thought. It stung like hell, but it wasn't anything major.

Brittany turned her attention to Santana. "I think he's jealous. I'm so sorry. This is not how I wanted this to go."

Santana looked past Brittany at the Devi's Spawn and gave him a dry look. In turn, the cat began to lick himself. "Gross."

Brittany kneeled down in front of Santana and examined her scratch. She lifted Santana calf for a closer look. "Does it hurt?"

Santana forgot about the pain in her ankle when she felt Brittany's warm hand touch her leg. "It's OK."

"Take off your stockings."

"Excuse me?" Santana suddenly felt very warm.

"They're ruined," Brittany said, "And why are you wearing stocking anyway? You're legs are beautiful and smooth. You don't have to cover anything up." She began to slowly run her hand up Santana's calf.

"Umm…." And there it was again, Santana feeling like a complete dork when it came to Brittany. Had this been some other woman, Santana would have come up with some dirty and witty comeback. But all she could think off to say to this particular woman wasn't even words. Santana figured that it was because Brittany wasn't begin seductive on purpose. She had sounded like she was saying the most obvious thing in the world. It caught Santana off guard. "It's cold…you know it's still winter."

Brittany let out a chuckle and stopped her movements. "Right." She hadn't meant to caress Santana like that, but it seemed her hands had other ideas. She wanted to keep doing it, but she had a wound to attend to. "I'll go get a band-aid and some alcohol."

Santana was glad when Brittany left because it gave her a chance to catch her breath. This was really happening. She felt different kissing Brittany this time. Back in college she had fought her feelings and lied to herself it was just a physical thing she wanted from Brittany. Now, older and honest with herself, she knew she really wanted a relationship with the girl who she had seen fall asleep in a lecture all those years ago.

She began taking off her stockings and when she heard a quiet growl. The Devil's Spawn was looking at her. "I'm not going to let you fuck this up," she whispered, "I don't care if you are jealous. Get used to it because I'm going to be kissing Brittany all the time."

Lord Tubbington flattened his ears and hissed.

Santana was about to talk back when she realized she was talking to a fucking cat. She rolled her eyes and continued taking off her stockings.

Brittany returned holding a bandage, cotton and a bottle of alcohol. "I know you're sort of a doctor cause of your family, but I'm pretty good at First Aid."

Santana rolled her stocking in a ball and placed them on the couch. "Well, if you say you're good, go for it. But Britt, I'm fine. I don't need a bandage. It's just a scratch."

Brittany put her supplies on the coffee table and kneeled back down in front of Santana. She poured some alcohol on a cotton ball and began to clean the scratch.

"Argh!" Santana flinched.

"Sorry," Brittany said softly. She lightly blew on the scratch. She continued to carefully clean the wound and glanced at Santana. She felt like this was the reason she was back. Santana. It was cheesy and silly and reminded her of the badly written scripts she had been reading for the past week, but that what she felt like when she looked at Santana.

"Umm, that's good enough," Santana said. Feeling Brittany's cooling breath on her ankle was turning her on more than it should. She almost lost it when Brittany smiled up at her.

"OK." Brittany put a bandage on Santana's ankle and got up. "All done."

"Great!" Santana got up again, threw that damn cat a dirty look and grabbed Brittany's hand. "I need a drink after all that. We should go."

Brittany sighed. "This sucks. I really wanted you and Lord Tubbington to be friends but he's being a little punk."

"He'll have to deal," Santana said, "I'm not going to get scared away by some cat."

Brittany smiled and kissed Santana lightly on the lips. "We'll try another meeting later. Next time though, no kissing."

Santana let out a disapproving huff.

"I'll go change…"

"Why?" Santana asked surprised, "You look great. Besides, we're just going for drinks."

"But you look all hot and sophisticated in your suit and I'm all sloppy with my jeans and top."

"I repeat, you look great," Santana said, "Come on. Let's go."

Brittany agreed to not change and soon they were out the door. Santana took them to The Red Barron figuring Brittany would want to see one of her old hang outs. Santana had hoped to get a table, but the place was packed. The only option they had, if they didn't want to wait, was the bar.

"That's fine," Brittany said, "This is a drink date."

"Drink date," Santana repeated.

As they sat down in the far corner, Brittany looked around. "It's amazing."

"What is?"

"It's like the fair. The place still looks the same after all these years. Time changes people but not places. I feel like I was just here last month or something."

"People definitely change," Santana agreed. The bartender came over for their order. "Red Manhattan please."

Brittany smiled. "You drink those now?"

Santana shrugged her shoulders. "They're really good."

Brittany ordered her Long Island Ice tea.

"Maybe people don't change that much," Santana said with a small laugh.

The bartender brought them their drinks and for a while they just sat in silence, looking at each other.

Brittany spoke first. "I didn't mean to ambush you, you know, with the kiss. Sorry."

Santana cradled her drink and smiled. "You never have to apologize for doing that. I'm glad you did it, because I wanted to kiss you too. I just wasn't sure if that would have been too fast."

"It should feel too fast," Brittany said, "But it doesn't. I think it's because of what happened before, you know? Like, we just hit the pause button and took a six year bathroom break and are now back and hit the play button."

"Something like that," Santana said with a chuckle.

"I'm kinda of confused though."

"About what?"

"Us," Brittany said, "What are we doing? Are we dating now or just making out?"

"I'm...sort of hoping we could do both," Santana said, careful to keep her tone casual. She didn't want to seem too eager.

"So you want to date me this time?" Brittany held her breath. She still expected Santana to say no.

"I wanted to date you back then," Santana said, a sad smile on her lips, "I was just too scared to admit it was more than just me wanting sex from you. That's not what I want."

Brittany furrowed her brow in confusion. "So, you don't want to have sex with me?"

"Oh I do!" Santana said quickly, "Believe me, I do. But, someone once told me that sex is better with feelings."

"That was me! Don't you remember?"

Santana couldn't help but laugh. "I remember. I meant you."

"Oh," Brittany said softly.

"I fucked up," Santana admitted, "I don't want to fuck up again."

"I messed this up too," Brittany said, "I should have been more honest about Quinn and what was happening. I should have waited."

"Stop," Santana said, "You didn't have to do anything. I had my own shit to deal with. And you were right. I mean here I was saying all I wanted was to sleep with you and on the other end you had Quinn telling you she wanted to be your girlfriend. I just...in my mind, I figured that if I got you to sleep with me first, you'd fall in love with me or something."

"I don't need to sleep with you to do that," Brittany said softly. She reached across the bar and grabbed Santana's hand. "Sex isn't everything. I mean, it's awesome but you can get that anywhere."

"You should have told that to College Santana."

"She probably wouldn't have listened," Brittany teased.

"No, she wouldn't," Santana said with a chuckle.

"Maybe we can go on an official date after the paintball thing," Brittany said.

"If I survive, then yes." Santana took a sip of her drink.

"I bet you're a great player," Brittany said, "Do you play a lot?"

"Umm..."

"Can I be on your team?" Brittany was getting excited.

"Yes. Most definitely." Santana wanted to impress Brittany and was sure that telling Brittany she had never played in her life, would not impress her at all.

"Awesome!"

"We'll talk teams later." Santana wanted to avoid this topic until she was on the field. She'd figure out how to try to not look like a paintball idiot in front of Brittany later. "Right now, tell me everything."

"About what?"

"New York," Santana said, "Did you like living there? Your job? Was the ice cream at that gay ice cream shop good?"

Brittany felt herself smile. "It totally was! OK, so Quinn and I..."

"Hold up!" Santana raised her hand. "I want to hear about you in New York. Not you and Quinn. I'm not interested in hearing about your time dating her."

"Oh, OK," Brittany said, "That's going to be kind of hard though cause she wasn't just my girlfriend. She was my friend too." Brittany saw Santana clench her jaw.

"Just...maybe later you can talk about you two," Santana said, trying to keep her voice even, "Not right now. Just tell me about you."

"Can I mention Mercedes and Holly?"

Santana nodded.

"OK." Brittany took a breath and began her story. "So Mercedes and I lived in Brooklyn and on the first day we were there, we saw a street fight and..."

They spent the next two hours just talking and filling each other in on what had happened to them in the last six years. There was so much to talk about that when Santana drove up to Quinn's house to drop Brittany off, she felt like they needed more time.

"I wish we could keep this going all night, but I have an early class tomorrow." Santana put the car in park and took off her seat belt so she could turn to face Brittany.

"It's OK." Brittany undid her seatbelt and faced Satana. "This drink date was fun."

"It was."

Brittany turned to take a quick glance at the drive way and saw Quinn's car. "Quinn's home. You said you wanted to say hello earlier. Do you want to come in?"

"I'll pass." Santana ran a hand through her hair. "I should really get going."

Brittany looked at Santana, trying to read her. The way Santana's face hardened every time Quinn was mentioned told Brittany a lot. "She's just my friend now."

"What?" Santana tried seem non pulsed.

"Quinn. She's just my friend now. She and I broke up, like four years ago. It took us a while, but we worked it out so that we could stay friends. Just friends."

Santana let out a breath. "It may have been four years to you, but to me, it feels like you were dating her last month. Every time you mention her, I think of that day in the editing room."

Brittany leaned across the console and placed a soft but firm kiss on Santana's lips. "I told you. There's no one else. You don't have to worry about Quinn."

"Easier said than done," Santana said softly.

Brittany placed her hand behind Santana's neck and brought her in for another, deeper kiss. She wanted to assure Santana she had nothing to worry about. Brittany only wanted her and no one else.

Santana gave in to Brittany's kiss. She opened her mouth wider to give Brittany all the access she wanted. This was like heaven and she wasn't going to give it up without a fight. Her mind knew Brittany was telling the truth, it had been a long time since she and Quinn dated and it was over. But her heart couldn't help but feel scared and insecure that Brittany would chose someone else over her again. It was a crazy fear. The way Brittany's lips and tongue explored her own with such passion and tenderness, told Santana she shouldn't have anything to worry about, but she did.

Brittany pulled back with one last suckle of Santana's upper lip. She tried to calm her breathing. "There's no one else."

"OK." Santana slowly opened her eyes and was met with tender blue ones. "I just need you to know that I want to be with you. You make me feel...I want to be with you."

Brittany smiled and placed another kiss on Santana's lips. "I want to be with you too. I've been waiting eight years for you to ask me out."

Santana let out a breathy laugh. "Sorry I took so long."

"It's OK." Brittany kissed Santana lightly one last time. She had to get out of this car or else she'd just keep kissing Santana. She let Santana go and went to open the car door. "I'll see you at paintball. I can't wait."

"Me neither." Santana felt a goofy grin on her face, but didn't care. She felt more secure in her feelings for Brittany than she ever had.

"Oh!" Brittany suddenly remembered. "Did you look for that script?"

Santana's grin faded. "Umm, not yet."

Brittany knew Santana was lying but let it go. "You don't have to be embarrassed you wrote a screenplay."

"Embarrassed?"

"I know it's awesome," Brittany continued, "It could make a great movie."

"You don't even know what it's about," Santana said. She swallowed trying to calm herself.

"I don't care," Brittany said shrugging her shoulders. "But I guess I should know if I'm going to make it into a movie. What's it about?"

Santana fidgeted in her seat. She wanted to prepare Brittany first before letting her read it and explain why she wrote what she did. "It's not a love story."

"Thank God!" Brittany was relieved, "I've had it up to hear with romantic scripts. You should see the pile of crap romantic movie ideas I've had to read. So just your script not being a love story, it already makes it awesome. Please let me read it."

"I'll look for it," Santana said, "I want... I need to explain why I wrote it."

"You said some Hollywood guy wanted you to write it," Brittany said, "What was his name anyway? Maybe I know him?"

"Artie something," Santana said trying to remember, "Abrams I think."

"Oh, I know Artie!" Brittany said, "Maybe I'll just call him up and ask him what your script is about."

"NO!" Santana practically shouted. She lowered her voice. "I mean, I'll find it. I just need to prepare...stuff. Don't call him."

Brittany wasn't sure what was going on, but if Santana didn't want her to call Artie, she would't. "OK."

"I'll see you at paintball, OK?" Santana felt relief wash over her know Brittany wouldn't contact Artie. She wanted to be the one to tell Brittany about the story and the script.

"I'll see you later." Brittany got out of the car and when she was halfway up the walkway, she turned to wave at Santana.

Santana waved back and drove home.

###

Brittany leaned down and tied her shoes as the SUV Mercedes was driving maneuvered through the city streets. She was sitting in the backseat while Quinn sat up front.

"This isn't the woods?" Mercedes said, disappointed, "It's Griffith Park. I thought we were going to be in the real woods."

"I see trees and grass all around me," Quinn said, "That's the woods! I miss civilization."

"Quinn," Mercedes said, "Civilization is like 4 miles south. And look," she pointed to the top of a mountain, "I think Jennifer Aniston lives in that mansion up there."

"Yeah," Brittany said, "I thought we were going to the real woods, but this is cool."

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Quinn said, "I still don't know why we couldn't just have a dinner."

Mercedes turned to the right. "Because Santana is a big paintballer or something and Brittany wants impress her.

"Santana is a paintball player?" Quinn didn't hide her surprise. "I can't picture that at all."

"Well, she suggested this," Brittany said, "So I'm sure she's done it before."

"This should be fun to watch," Quinn said, a light laugh in her voice, "I still wish we'd gone to dinner though. We're going to get eaten by coyotes."

The SUV went down a secluded road for about five more minutes and after a turn, the makeshift p camp came into view.

"We're here!" Mercedes said excitedly.

"YAY!" Brittany yelled. She wanted to find Santana as soon as possible.

Once the car was parked, everyone got out and headed straight to registration, with people greeting them along the way. The camp area was pretty impressive. Camouflage tents were set up with netting all around. People were walking around in camouflage and some were carrying guns.

Brittany looked around and was amazed at how much the area looked like a real military training camp. Everyone was dressed in combat boots and looked like soldiers. There were other groups here and tried to find her own. As they neared the registration table, Brittany saw Mike standing by the table.

"Hey!" he yelled to be heard from the distance, a big smile on his face, "There you guys are!"

Brittany ran an gave Mike a big hug. She hadn't had a chance to see him since she returned to L.A. "MIKE!"

Mike laughed and lifted Brittany off the ground. "Hey! You have no idea how glad I am you're back."

"Me too!" Brittany was all smiles. Mike put her down and continued to smile. "So I guess we're co-workers now. Isn't is awesome?"

"It is." Mike's attention turned to Brittany's right. "Hey Quinn. Mercedes."

The four of them greeted each other for a few moments but Brittany was more anxious to find Santana. "Where's everyone else?"

"Gearing up," Mike said, "You guys should too. Go to that orange and green tent there and get your stuff. Santana already registered you guys. You just have to sign this waiver and you're good to go."

"Waiver?" Mercedes asked.

"You know, in case you get killed," Mike joked, "You can't sue the paintball company."

"Oh God," Mercedes mumbled. They all signed they waivers and headed to the gear tent.

As soon as Brittany entered she spotted Santana and smiled.

Santana checked her vest again to make sure it was secure. She still couldn't believe she was doing this and was getting ready to call it quits when she looked up and saw Brittany smiling at her. Yeah, she was doing this.

"Hey!" Santana walked up to Brittany and just hoped she looked cool in her black combat gear.

"Hi." Brittany couldn't help but giggle at Santana's outfit. "You look cute."

"Cute? I'm supposed to look tough," Santana said trying to sound offended.

"Cute and tough."

"Well look who it is!" Mercedes came and stood right beside Brittany. "I hate you for making us do this. What was wrong with a dinner?"

"Just thought we'd do something different," Santana said trying to sound like this really was a great idea. She tried to keep her smile when she saw Quinn appear on the other side of Brittany. She knew she had to get over this irrational jealousy she felt, but so far she wasn't having any luck. "Hey Quinn."

"Hey Santana," Quinn said in such a sweet voice that Santana wanted to shove her. "Nice mess you got us into."

"Well, no one forced you to show up," Santana said, annoyed.

"Whoa." Quinn put her hands up. "I was just kidding. I mean, yeah, it's not my sort of thing, but I'm up for trying something different."

Santana chanced a look at Brittany and saw confusion on her face. "Sorry. I'm just excited to get out there and….paint. I mean, shoot things."

"We should get ready," Brittany said. She glanced at Santana one last time before heading off with Quinn and Mercedes to get her gear.

"Shit," Santana mumbled. She went off looking for Kurt who had gone off to help Rachel color coordinate her arm bandana.

When everyone was ready they went to their designated area to pick teams. They spent a few minutes just talking and everyone greeting Brittany and welcoming her back. Sugar, Puck, Tina and Kurt were thrilled Brittany was back and were glad to finally be able to see her. Santana took a deep breath. She had no idea what to do.

"Well," Kurt began, "Since this was Santana's bright idea I nominate her team captain of the red team."

"Excuse me?" Santana adjusted her helmet. This sucked.

"Seconded!" Sugar shouted.

"I think that Quinn should be the captain of the blue team," Sam said with the biggest smile. Santana rolled her eyes.

"Awesome!" Brittany clapped her hands. "Quinn is great at bossing people around."

Santana heard Quinn groan.

"Perfect!" Rachel said, "Now a few rules before we pick teams. Please do not shoot me in the face. I am an entertainer. My face is my tool…."

"I pick Brittany!" Santana interrupted.

"You can't just pick," Quinn said, "Don't we have to flip a coin or something?"

"I call shot gun," Santana said, "And that means I pick first. Brittany."

"That's not proper paintball protocol," Sam said.

"We're wasting time!" Santana just wanted to get this over with.

Brittany smiled and went over to stand next to Santana. "Thanks for picking me."

"I told you you'd be on my team," Santana said with a smile.

Quinn looked around the group. "Sam."

"Yes!" Sam pumped his fist in the air.

Brittany smiled and watched the rest of the picks. In the end, Santana's team also had Kurt, Rachel, Tina and Puck. Quinn's team so had Sam, Mike, Mercedes and Sugar.

"My team is one short," Quinn said.

"It's fine," Sam chimed in, "We can still beat them."

"In your dreams Trouty Mouth," Santana smirked.

"Whatever. Everyone take your spots!" Sam shouted.

Each team separated and took their place on the field.

Brittany adjusted her helmet and actually squealed in excitement. She looked at Santana and through her goggles, Brittany thought she looked nervous. "You OK?"

"All systems go!" Santana said with a forced smile. "OK, so we get a flag or something, right?"

"You don't know?" Rachel asked, worried, "How can we be victorious if our own captain doesn't know what to do?"

"Calm down," Kurt said, "I'm sure Santana knows what she's doing. Right?"

"Umm, of course." Santana felt like she was seating bullets. "Come on let's go form a plan."

As they walked to their spots, Santana heard Puck behind her. "I should have been on the other team."

-**tbc**-

* * *

**A/N: This was going to be longer but life took all my time. So paintball next chapter. Thanks for reading everyone!**


	19. Amnesia

"ALRIGHT EVERYONE, GAME ONE STARTS IN 10 MINUTES!"

Brittany, tried to control her excitement. So far, this was the most exciting sort of date she had ever been on. She looked at her team and was sure they had a good chance of winning, even with Rachel and Kurt on her team. Rachel kept on reciting her "Rachel Rules" and Brittany was trying her best to ignore her. Kurt keep untying and tying his silk bandanna trying to get the perfect knot.

Brittany focused her attention on Santana who was trying to read a map and explain her plan. Brittany did her best to suppress her smile. A month ago, she was in New York living her life and now she was surrounded by her college friends and Santana. She felt like she was back at school and no one had grown up. She loved it.

Santana looked up from the huddle she and her teammates were in and instructed everyone to spread out and not get shot.

"That's it?" Rachel did not seem impressed. "That's your plan? Spread out and don't get shot? What about strategy? Should we meet up in the woods somewhere for status reports? Should someone guard the perimeter?"

Santana swallowed. She tried to remember every war book she had ever read and war movie she had ever seen. That didn't help at all. She glanced over at Brittany who was looking at her as if waiting for instructions.

"Umm…." Santana looked at the map again and pointed to a location near the victory flag. "Here, if you're still paint free, we meet here. OK?"

"You've never done this before, have you?" Puck accused.

"Let her talk," Kurt said.

"Have you done this before?" Tina asked

"Shut it Puckerman! You too Chang!" Santana folded her map and put it in her pocket. "OK, go away. Spread out and conquer in teams. Rachel and Kurt. Tina and Puck. Go!"

"Is this going to hurt?" Tina asked.

"Sure is!" Puck was more than excited. "Come on! I want to do some serious damage!"

Her team disappeared into the woods and Santana was left alone with Brittany.

"You've never played paintball, have you?" Brittany asked, looking beyond amused.

"I…" Santana didn't even try to come up with an excuse. She let out a long breath. "No. I have no fucking clue what I'm doing."

Brittany couldn't suppress her laugh. "Then why did you suggest this? We could have done that dinner."

"You said a dinner would be boring." Santana turned to leave, feeling embarrassed.

Brittany chuckled again and reached for Santana. She turned her around and placed a kiss on her lips. "You're cute."

"I am not," Santana pouted. She kissed Brittany back. "Can we just find some bush in the woods and make out instead of doing this paint thing."

"No." Brittany stepped back and adjusted her goggles. "We're going to do this and win. If you lead our team to victory, maybe I'll give you a special reward."

Santana smirked. "How special?"

"Super special." Brittany turned and headed into the woods.

"Super special." Santana repeated. She suddenly had all the motivation she needed to win this thing.

###

Brittany adjusted her paintball mask. She was hiding behind a tree and waiting for any type of movement. When the battle had started, everyone had scatted and while she tried to stay by Santana's side, Santana decided that the best shot their team had of winning was splitting up and covering all sides. She looked around through the trees, bushes and tall grass and saw that she was alone. At least she thought she was. Brittany was pretty sure someone from the opposite team was hiding behind a bush across from her.

She had no idea where everyone else was and was starting to think this was not the best activity for spending time with Santana.

"Fuck," Brittany whispered. She had her gun at the ready and had yet to shoot anyone, "Damn, it's fucking hot."

With all the gear including, mask, protective padding under her camouflage pants and shirt, she felt overheated. Brittany felt sweat trickle down her face under her mask. The day was particularly warm and Brittany was starting to feel overheated.

The field was calm and quiet except for birds and an occasional squirrel that ran up a tree.

Brittany's job was to guard the perimeter. The other team would, according to Puck, send someone to weaken their defense. But so far, nothing. Brittany was getting impatient.

She heard a rustling. There, Brittany thought, I see you.

Brittany slowly raised her gun and waited. There was someone across from her. She couldn't tell who it was, only that they were the enemy. Brittany smiled, she still hadn't been seen. Her target slowly emerged from the behind the bush and stood up. Brittany pointed, aimed and when the enemy stepped out, fired.

"FUCK!" the target yelled.

"YES!" Brittany said. She looked around and stepped out from behind the tree.

"Who are you?" Brittany asked.

"Brittany?" came a voice, "Shit, you shot me."

"Sugar?" Brittany asked.

"Yeah it's me," Sugar said as she took off her mask, "Fuck, this hurts."

"Sucker!" Brittany teased and extended her hand, "Come on, give me your bandana."

"Good job Pierce," Sugar said handing over her band, "You're team is still going to lose."

"We'll see," Brittany said.

Sugar raised her gun over her head and yelled, "I'M HIT!" and walked off to the Dead Zone.

Brittany went back to her hiding spot and assessed the situation. She knew that not far was the other team's marker, if she got close enough, and replaced the marker with her team's color, her team would be closer to victory.

Brittany moved carefully and quickly a short distance. Then she heard another noise. Brittany quickly dove behind some bushes and froze. She tried to look through her googles but her vision blurred. She closed her eyes and opened them again, still blurred. Again she closed her eyes and a wave of dizziness hit her.

"Shit," Brittany said quietly. She removed her mask and took a deep breath. Slow breaths.

Another deep breath, her eyes closed. She heard that noise again, but it sounded far, far away. Deep breath.

"Brittany?" a muffled voice said.

To Brittany the voice sounded like it was miles away, and sounded like they were talking inside a tin can. Deep breath. The spinning was slowly stopping. Deep breath.

"Brittany? You OK?" the voice asked.

Brittany opened her eyes slowly and saw the trees spin around her a bit before they finally settled. The trees weren't moving. She looked around and noticed that someone form her team was right next to her and she didn't know when and how they got there.

Her teammate removed their mask. It was Santana.

"Brittany? You're bright red!" Santana said, her voice full of concern, "I'm surrendering," Santana started getting up.

"NO!" Brittany said pulling her down, "I'm fine. It's just fucking hot under all this gear. I'm fine."

Brittany took a few more deep breaths and was slowly regaining her senses. The trees were still, the breeze hitting her face and it felt good.

"Where's your water can?" Santana didn't like how red Brittany.

"I forgot it in the tent," Brittany said.

Santana reached to her belt and took out the small green canteen that was attached to her belt, "Here, drink it."

"No, I don't want to take your..."

"Fucking drink it Brittany!" Santana said, her voice forceful.

Brittany took the can and took a drink. She had intended to take a small drink, but ended up finishing the whole can.

"Shit," Brittany said catching her breath, "Sorry, I finished the whole thing."

"Good," Santana said, "Are you feeling OK? What's wrong?"

"It was just the heat from these gear," Brittany insisted, "Look, we need to put or masks back on and keep quiet or we'll lose the game."

"Fuck the game," Santana said, "I don't want to have to carry you back to camp."

"You won't," Brittany said. She looked at Santana, "Are you OK? You look really red too."

"It's fucking hot under all this shit," Santana said.

"I told you so."

Santana reached over and touched Brittany's cheek. It was hot. "Why don't you surrender and I'll take it form here."

"No way!" Brittany protested. "I'm OK. Don't worry. It's just this gear and it could be I'm a little dizzy cause I skipped breakfast. My blood sugar is probably low or something…."

"Blood sugar?" Santana was really worried now. "Are you sick? Why didn't you eat breakfast? That's it, I'm quitting…"

"Santana, stop," Brittany said. She couldn't help but love how Santana was fussing over her. "I'm fine. My nana always says she gets low blood sugar so I just figure I get it to. You know, DNA and all that. "

"Are you..."

"Stop," Brittany said putting her mask back on, "I've already shot one. How many have you gotten?"

"Three," Santana said putting on her mask back on. She realized Brittany wasn't going to listen and Santana just had to make sure to watch out for her.

"Three?" Brittany asked impressed. "Who?"

Santana smiled. "Mike, Mercedes and some dude from some other team. This game is fucking awesome!"

Santana had just let go of all her nervousness and just tried to have fun. If she got shot, she got shot. She was only pretending to know what she was doing to impress Brittany but it turned out Brittany didn't even care. So neither did Santana. In the process, she had found herself enjoying shooting the crap out of people.

They stayed behind the bushes for a bit making sure no one else was around. Brittany felt Santana stare at her at times and she had to reassure her that she was fine. When they were satisfied the opposing team was nowhere in sight, they moved. They jogged through some trees for a short distance when they suddenly found themselves near the victory flag. They dropped to the ground, behind some bushes and waited.

"Shit," Santana said in a whisper, "It's the flag. Do you think we can get it... just the two of us?"

"Maybe," Brittany answered, her voice soft, "So we know Mercedes, Mike and Sugar are out."

"You got Sugar?" Santana asked with a smile.

"Sure did." Brittany didn't even try to hide how proud she was. "Anyway, so that leaves Quinn and Sam. Have you seen anyone else from our team?"

"Tina." Santana said shaking her head. "I think something scared her because she suddenly jumped out of her hiding place and….bam. Shot like 10 times."

"Puck? Kurt? Rachel?"

"I will wear a bunny suit if either Kurt and Rachel survived this long."

"Is that so?" Brittany caught movement behind Santana and caught sight of Kurt's silk bandana. Right behind him was a tiny figure hunched over and Brittany was sure was Rachel.

"Those idiots probably got distracted trying to color coordinate their guns." Santana laughed at her own joke. She was sure that she and Brittany, possibly Puck, were the only ones to count on to win.

"A bunny suit," Brittany repeated, "OK. You're on."

"What?"

"You said you'd bet, so let's bet," Brittany said, trying not to let on she was lying.

"Seriously?" Santana was about to say she was just kidding but the mental image of Brittany in a bunny suit was just too much to pass up. "OK. It's a bet!"

Brittany extended her hand and Santana shook it. Brittany just smiled.

Santana heard rustling behind her and she turned. It was then her eyes went wide. She recognized Kurt's silk bandana. "The fuck?"

"I win." Brittany let out a laugh.

Santana whipped her head back to look at Brittany. "You cheated! You knew he was back there!"

"Excuse me?" Brittany tried not to laugh and pretend to sound offended. "How dare you accuse me of cheating."

Kurt and Rachel managed to slither their way to Brittany and Santana.

"It's so dirty," Kurt whined. "Ugh, is this over? I want to go to lunch."

"I think I can use this experience for my next movie," Rachel said. She took off her goggles and looked at Brittany. "Why are you so red?"

"I'm fine," Brittany said. She turned to Santana. "You owe me a bunny suit."

"Sorry, I don't honor fixed bets," Santana said.

"Bunny suit?" Rachel looked confused.

Santana turned to the two people who had made her lose her bet. "How the hell did you two survive this long? Where's Puck?"

"He got shot," Kurt said, "Got too cocky and lost focus."

"I knew he would," Rachel said shaking her head.

Santana groaned. She wanted to win. Not only because Brittany promised her a special reward but because sometime during her trek in the woods, this game had become important to her. She needed to beat Quinn.

"So what do we do?" Rachel asked. "I do now realize you have no idea what this game entails, but you are still our captain. So, captain us."

"OK." Santana took a deep breath. "The flag is just a few feet away. We need to see if anyone from the other team is guarding it. So…Rachel, go get it."

Rachel's eyes went wide. "Are you….am I a sacrifice?"

"Of course not," Santana said in her best nice voice, "Think of it this way. If no one is guarding, you get the flag and win this for our team. You'll be the MVP."

"I do like that," Rachel said, "And if someone is guarding it?"

"You'll take one for the team," Santana said, "You'll be a celebrated hero."

"Hmm, I do like that as well." Rachel seemed to think it over for a bit and finally put her goggles back on. "Let's kick some ass!"

Before they knew it, Rachel got up and ran across the field towards the flag. No one shot her. She got closer and still no one shot her. Santana was starting to think they'd actually win this. When Rachel as almost at arm's length of the flag, a shot rang out.

"Shit!" Brittany almost shouted. She saw Rachel get pummeled with paint balls and soon she was covered in yellow paint.

"Fuck." Santana watched as Rachel screamed and fell to the ground.

"STOP SHOOTING ME! I'M DEAD!" Rachel screamed as she fell to the ground in a fetal position.

The shooting stopped and Rachel managed to get up. "I TOLD YOU NOT THE FACE!" She then walked off without another word.

"Now what?" Kurt asked.

"I'm pretty sure there are just two," Brittany said, "I only saw shots coming from two separate directions."

Santana smiled. "Look at you all into this game."

"I'm trying to get you that special reward," Brittany teased.

"Maybe if you tell me how special it is, I'll be more motivated to win," Santana flirted back.

Kurt cleared his throat. "Are you two seriously flirting right now? We're in the middle of a war. Wait, so does this mean you two are…not weird with each other anymore?"

"Not weird at all," Santana said, "I'll tell you later." Kurt had been her go-to person for all things Brittany since college, but she hadn't had time to tell him what had happened on their drink date.

"We're good," Brittany added. As if to make her point, Brittany leaned towards Santana and placed a small kiss on her lips.

"It's about fucking time," Kurt said. "OK, enough about that. How do we win?"

Santana forced herself to switch over to captain mode. "Britt says there are only two left and there are three of us. I say we just run for it, shooting in all directions and hopefully one of us makes it to the flag."

"Oh brother." Kurt did not seem impressed.

"She's right," Brittany added, "Let's just go all crazy. I'm hungry and want to get this over with."

"Done," Santana said, "Brittany needs to eat so let's just do this."

"I need to eat too," Kurt whined. "I said as much when I got here."

"Stop being so needy Kurt," Santana warned.

"But…."

"On the count of three," Santana began

The three of them got up to a crouch and got ready to fire at the opposing team.

"Get ready," Santana said, "One...Two...THREE!"

All of a sudden, the three of them shot out from the bushes firing paintball pellets at the other team. The other team caught by surprise, also opened fire. Quinn and Sam jumped out and ran to the flag.

"I GOT THIS!" Quinn yelled.

Santana saw Quinn and immediately began shooting all her ammo at her. She had only meant to shot her once, or maybe twice, but Santana found herself unable to let go of her trigger and soon emptied her ammo at, or near Quinn.

"FUCKING SHIT!" Quinn dropped to the ground and covered herself.

"SANTANA! STOP!" Brittany looked on in shock as Santana kept firing at Quinn. She removed her helmet and kept shouting at Santana to stop. She got so distracted she didn't notice Sam running towards the flag and Kurt falling to the ground grabbing his stomach where he had been shot.

Santana realized what she was doing and put her gun down. She had been so focused on stopping Quinn she didn't realize she had gone a tad overboard. OK, a lot overboard. But this inner need she felt at beating Quinn took over. It was almost as if Santana had to get back at her for everything. "Oh shit! I'm so sorry." Before she knew it, Santana felt a shooting pain in her right thigh. Brittany had shot her. "What the fuck?!"

"You've lost it…." Brittany shouted, "What's wrong with…."

Brittany didn't get a chance to finish her sentence. Sam had been running really fast towards the flag, the flag Brittany was standing in front of. She had meant to grab it but had gotten distracted when Santana had gone all trigger happy on Quinn. One second she was yelling at Santana and the next she felt herself fall to the ground.

"UMPH!" Sam grunted.

"Brittany!" Santana yelled.

Brittany didn't respond. Sam had landed on top of her, flag in his hand. "Oh shit!" He got up and immediately took off his helmet. "Brittany? Are you OK?"

Santana dropped her gun and pushed Sam aside. "The fuck is wrong with you?" She turned her attention to blond on the ground. "Brittany are you OK?

Brittany slowly got up sat up, a wave of dizziness hitting her. "I'm fine..I think I hit my head."

Santana was soon joined by everyone else, all surounding Brittany. "Back off. Let her breath."

"I'm fine…'Tana." Brittany got up with the help of Santana and Sam.

Santana felt this overwhelming need to protect Brittany. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Quinn, covered in paint, come up to Brittany's other side.

"Sweetie, maybe you should sit back down," Quinn said.

Santana moved to put her arm around Brittany's waist. "She's fine. I'll take her to the first aid tent."

Except for the dizziness, Brittany felt fine. She touched the back of her head to see if there was blood, but there wasn't.

"Maybe she has a concussion," Rachel suggested.

"We should take her to the hospital," Kurt added.

"Yes we should," Mercedes said. Mike also agreed.

"Is she bleeding?" Tina asked.

"I'm so sorry Brittany," Sam said again.

All these voices were giving Brittany a headache. "I'm fine guys. I just need to sit down." She put her arm around Santana's shoulder and let Santana lead her.

"Here," Puck said, seeming to come out of nowhere, "I'll take her."

Before Brittany knew it, she was being lifted in Puck's arms and he was carrying her away.

"Fucking Puck," Santana said under her breath, not denying the fact she was jealous she couldn't lift Brittany in her arms and carry her.

Everyone followed Puck to the first aid tent. Santana fell behind a bit to walk with Sam. She punched him in the arm. Hard.

"Ouch!"

"Are you fucking blind? Why the hell did you come running at her like some fucking psycho bull let lose? You could have killed her!"

Sam rubbed his most likely bruised arm. "Jesus. It was an accident. It happened so fast, I thought she was going to move."

"If she so much gets a headache, I'm going to cut off your balls," Santana threatened.

Sam swallowed. "She's…she's fine. And besides, she probably would have moved out of the way if you hadn't gone all Scarface on Quinn."

Santana glared at Sam one last time and ran up to catch up with Puck. Before she reached him however, she felt an arm tug at her. It was Quinn.

"What the fuck was that?"

"What?" Santana wanted to get to Brittany and not waste time with Quinn.

"You know exactly 'what'," Quinn accused, "You and I need to have a talk. The sooner the better."

"I have nothing to say to you." Santana was not only getting annoyed but also angry.

"Yes, you do," Quinn said. She kept her voice low so that the others couldn't hear. "You've had something to say to me for six years, and so have I. It's time we said it."

Santana stopped walking. "Fine. But not now. Now we need to make sure Brittany is OK."

Quinn nodded. "Right. But soon. Because like it or not, I'm a big part of Brittany's life and I'm not going anywhere so you better get used to that."

Before Santana could say anything more, Quinn walked away from her and caught up with Mercedes.

###

Brittany slowly opened her eyes. She was sure she had her eyes open, but all of a sudden they were closed. Last thing she remembered was walking with Santana but now she was laying down and above her were familiar faces.

Santana was one of them.

"Brittany...Brittany," she said as she brushed a strand of hair from Brittany's forehead, "How do you feel?"

"What? Uh," Brittany said, her voice groggy, "What happened? Did we win?"

"No," Santana said softly, "But who cares about that."

Brittany tried to get up, and managed to do so with Santana's help. She looked around and saw she had been laying on a cot inside what looked like the first aid tent. How embarrassing, she thought.

"Whoa, careful," Santana said, "Puck brought you here. Everyone is outside. That idiot Sam ran into you at the pole and you must have hit your head. You passed out for a few seconds."

"Oh shit," Brittany said touching the back of her head. It was tender. Brittany looked over to the entrance of the tent and saw Quinn and Mercedes enter.

"Brittany! Oh thank God. Are you OK?" Mercedes asked, worry in her voice.

"Brittany, are you OK?" Quinn asked.

"Yeah, yeah," Brittany said. "People need to stop asking me that. I'm fine."

"OK, come on," Mike said also entering and handing Brittany an ice pack to put behind her head, "We're going to the hospital."

"No, I'm fine," Brittany.

"Like hell," Quinn said, "We're going."

"Just for a check up," Santana said. She didn't want to push Brittany but she would feel a lot better knowing Brittany didn't have concussion or anything serious.

"Fine." Brittany rolled her eyes and sat up.

Mike turned to Brittany, "Can you walk?"

"Yes. of course," Brittany said getting up a bit wobbly. She felt strong arms around her waist and smiled. Santana had her, she'd be fine.

###

Brittany sat on the hospital bed in the ER. Across from her were more bed all occupied by people with various injuries. Broken arm, slash on the head, drunk guy, broken leg...doctors and nurses walked all around them. Brittany knew she should't be here, she was fine. Santana had gotten her a granola bar from the vending machine and that had made her feel better.

"I hate hospitals," Mercedes said. She was sitting in the empty bed next to Brittany's. Beside her sat Sam and Quinn.

"You feeling better?" Sam asked, his voice full of concern and regret. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be," Brittany said, "It was an accident. And I'm fine."

"It was his fault," Santana said. She was sitting to Brittany's right in a chair provided for visitors.

"I'm fine. Aside from a slight headache, I'm good, " Brittany said.

"The doctor should be here soon Britt," Quinn said, "Then we can go home and I'll make you some macaroni and cheese."

"That sounds so good." Brittany was starving even after having that granola bar. Skipping breakfast and all the energy she spent playing really drained her. "Can you make me some cookies too?"

"Sure," Quinn said with a chuckle.

Santana clenched her jaw. She hated the idea of Quinn taking care of Brittany. She was the one who was supposed to take care of her. Brittany was her girlfriend. Or not. No, not really. They hadn't even gone out on a date but there was something. Maybe there wasn't an official label but Santana knew she should be the one making Brittany macaroni and cheese and cookies. Not Quinn. Santana let out a breath. Quinn was right. There was something she has been waiting six years to tell Quinn.

"We should go to my house." Everyone looked at Santana like she said the most insane thing in the world. "What?"

"You want all of us to go to your house?" Mercedes asked.

Santana shrugged her shoulders. "Sure. We were all supposed to go eat after anyway, so why not just take the party to my house. We'll order pizza. I have pool."

"A pool?" Brittany's excitement showed on her face. "I love swimming."

"You'll love it," Santana said with a smile, "But you'll swim another day. I don't want you passing out in my pool."

"I guess the literary world has been good to you," Quinn said.

"Very good." Santana didn't hide how proud she was of her accomplishments. "I hear your mom gave you your house. Must be nice not having to work for things."

"Whoa!" Brittany spoke up. She felt the air fill with tension and suddenly had the mental image of Quinn and Santana fighting like a couple of alley cats. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Santana said.

"Something." Quinn crossed her arms. She winced.

"Are you OK, Quinn?" Brittany asked.

"Fine. Just a little sore from being ambushed with paintballs." Quinn narrowed her eyes and looked straight at Santana.

"Yeah," Mercedes said, "What the hell was that?"

Santana knew she should apologize. No matter how much she disliked Quinn, Santana knew she shouldn't have lost it like that. Thankfully, Santana didn't have to answer because the doctor came.

"OK," a tall, older looking man said, "You feel dizzy, Ms. Pierce?" He went over to the bed and examined Brittany.

"Not anymore," Brittany told him, "I hadn't eaten and I think that's what caused it."

"Well," he continued, moving to look at Brittany's chart, "You've got a very mild concussion, nothing serious, but it's still a...," he stopped and looked around, "Can all of you not in a bed please go to the waiting room."

"Why?" Santana asked.

"There's way too many people in here," the doctor said forcefully, "And I'd rather not discuss my patient's case in front of an audience."

"Quinn and I will wait outside," Mercedes said grabbing Quinn's hand, "We'll fill everyone in on what happened."

"Fine," Quinn said and walked out with Mercedes. Sam followed them.

"I'm staying," Santana said, her voice almost forceful.

The doctor looked at Brittany for confirmation it was OK. Brittany nodded.

"OK, well, Brittany...like I was saying, have a mild concussion, but all your scans came back normal. You'll be fine."

"She was dizzy. What about that?" Santana asked her arms crossed.

"That was most likely from not eating," the doctor.

"Are you sure?" Santana persisted. She was starting to wonder if they should get another doctor.

"Santana!" Brittany said, "Let him finish."

Santana took a deep breath and let the man continue.

"Go home, rest, and no more paintball," the doctor said, "At least for a while."

"OK," Brittany said.

"I'll go sign your discharge papers."

Santana was about to ask more questions, but the doctor had already left.

"We'll go home…I mean, to my house," Santana said, "And I'll make you some macaroni and cheese and everyone else can eat pizza."

"You don't have to," Brittany said with a smile, "Quinn said she'd…."

Santana got up from her chair and sat on the bed, right next to Brittany. "I want to. This is going to sound dumb..."

"What?" Brittany reached over and took Santana's hand.

"I should be the one cooking for you and taking care of you, not Quinn," Santana said. She did indeed feel dumb and embarrassed but she pushed through it and continued. "I told you I want to be with you. And being with you means I take care of you." Santana let out a breath. "You must think I'm some crazy possessive psycho."

Brittany chuckled. "No. OK, maybe a little, but I like it. I like that you're making a fuss over me."

"Yeah?"

"Mmm hmm." Brittany leaned in and placed a soft kiss on Santana's lips. "I'd rather eat your macaroni and cheese."

Santana couldn't help but laugh.

Brittany's tone became serious. "I told you. Quinn is just my friend. You have to believe me because if you don't then you're going to really turn into a crazy possessive psycho."

Santana's throat felt dry. "I…I'm working on it. I promise. I do owe Quinn and apology though."

"Yeah, you almost killed her with paint," Brittany said, her voice full of disapproval.

"I'll talk to her," Santana said, "I'll fix it."

"Sorry I shot you," Brittany said.

"It's fine." Santana gave Brittany's hand light squeeze. "I sort of deserved it."

Brittany leaned forward again and captured Santana's lips with her own. This time the kiss was longer and soon their lips were devouring each other. Santana was the first to pull away.

"Britt, stop." Santana was just glad the privacy curtain was concealing them. "We can't... make out in an ER."

"Can we make out at your place?" Brittany gave Santana her most meschivious smile.

"With everyone there?" Santana was already trying to come up with excuses to uninvited everyone and tell them to go get pizza somewhere else.

"Well," Brittany began, "I think I might get, like amnesia with this bump on my head. I'll need someone to keep an eye on me all night to make sure I don't forget who I am."

Santana actually felt her heart skip a beat. "You, you want to stay over?"

Brittany heard the uncertainty in Santana's voice and wondered if she had gone too far, too soon. "Umm, no. I'm fine. I'm just kidding…"

"Britt, if you want to sleep over, I'd love to have you." Santana didn't want Brittany to be kidding.

"I'll totally cramp your evening…"

"My evening was most likely going to be me reading a book and maybe watching the news.'

"No offense, but that sounds super boring," Brittany said gently.

Santana couldn't help but laugh. "Super boring. I'd rather spend my night taking care of you."

"OK." Brittany suddenly felt very bashful.

Santana felt her smile grow incredibly big.

###

After the hospital, everyone went home to shower and change then met up at Santana's house for pizza, beers and swimming for some. Santana had realized she didn't even have any of the ingredients she needed to make Brittany her macaroni and cheese and reluctantly ordered a plate from a nearby restaurant.

"It's OK," Brittany said, "It was last minute and plus now, I have something to look forward to." Just the fact that Santana had even offered to cook for her was enough for Brittany.

Santana did her best to play host. She wanted to keep everyone fed and happy so that they wouldn't go breaking things around her house. She would occasionally catch Quinn's eye and Santana knew they had to have a talk. At one point, while everyone was outside, she motioned for Quinn to follow her to the kitchen where they'd be alone.

"Are you OK?" Santana asked Quinn as soon as she entered the kitchen. "I mean, are you still sore."

"I think I'll be sore for a week," Quinn said, "What the fuck Santana? Are you still seriously holding a grudge after all this time?"

Santana scoffed. "Considering you stole the only girl I ever cared about from me, forgive me for not being super nice to you."

"Brittany chose to be with me." Quinn was calm. "I never pushed her. She chose me because she wanted to."

Santana walked over to the sink and grabbed the edge of the tile out of anger. "I'm sure you two were very happy for awhile."

"We were."

"And now? If I remember right, you were like some love sick puppy around Brittany." Santana voice had a harsh tone. "Is that why you're still hanging around her? You hoping to win her back?"

Quinn laughed. She actually laughed and it made Santana angrier.

"If I wanted Brittany back," Quinn began, "We probably would have gotten back together years ago."

"You sound so sure of yourself." Santana tried to calm herself. She told Brittany she'd fix this and that's what she was going to do. She believed Brittany when she said Quinn was only her friend. But that didn't mean Quinn only had friendly feelings for Brittany.

Quinn chuckled again and went to sit down on a kitchen table chair. "You're jealous and mad. You're mad that Brittany chose me back then and you're jealous she'll pick me again now."

Santana just crossed her arms and said nothing.

"I love Brittany," Quinn said, "She's one of my closest friends. Yes, I was in love with her but I'm not anymore. After we broke up, I kept trying to push her out of my life because, who the hell is friends with their exes, right?"

Santana had to agree.

"But Brittany," Quinn continued, "Has this crazy idea that being friends with people you dated is possible. So we worked hard at it and now we're best friends. Nothing more. So, what ever grudge you have against me, let it go. We're just friends now."

Santana uncrossed her arms and let out a breath. She believed Quinn. "OK."

"That's it? That's all you have to say?"

Santana rolled her eyes. "And I'm sorry I went all Scarface on you. I'll be nicer."

Quinn smiled and got up. "Apology accepted. Listen Santana, it's always been you."

"Huh?"

"With Brittany. I mean, yes, she was in love with me, I know that. But if you had gone after her...it's always been you."

Any anger she had ever felt towards Quinn seemed to have disappeared with those words. She nodded. "Umm, we should...we should get back."

"Right," Quinn agreed, "Brittany will probably think we killed each other in here."

Santana was surprised when she laughed. "Probably. Look, Quinn, I really am sorry for shooting you."

"I know," Quinn said, "Let's just try to be friends for Brittany's sake. Or sort of friends."

"I can do sort of friends," Santana agreed, "And as a sort of friend, it's my duty to warn you that Sam has a thing for you and he'll probably make a fool of himself trying to impress you."

"Oh, I know," Quinn said, "He's not very subtle."

"No, he's not," Santana said with a chuckle. "You still into guys too?"

"Still playing for both team," Quinn confirmed, "Sam's sweet. We'll see what happens."

"Good." Santana began walking towards the exit. "If you hurt him though, I'm back to hating you."

"I can't seem to win with you."

"Nope."

###

By the time the sun was setting, Brittany was feeling good as new. It was as if nothing had happened. In fact, she felt so good, there really was no need for Santana to watch over her. Brittany was fine. For the first time in her life she wished she was sicker. She wanted to stay with Santana tonight, the idea made her feel warm all over. Maybe if she tried hard enough, she could give herself a headache or something.

She looked around the yard and almost everyone had gone home, only Quinn, Sam and Rachel remained.

"This has been such a great day," Rachel said, "Thank you for inviting me. I got such great material for my acting."

"Speaking of acting," Quinn said, "Have you given any thought about signing with New Directions? You can help us revive the studio."

"Have you found a script?" Rachel asked, "I'd love to be the reason New Directions is successful again, but I'd like to read a script before I sign on."

"Britt and I are working on it," Quinn said, "Look, let's set up a meeting next week and I promise I'll have a script for you to read."

"Uh Quinn..." Brittany said. Quinn gave her a look not to say anymore. Could they find a good script by next week, she wondered. Everything they had read so far sucked. Brittany looked over at Santana who had just joined everyone. Santana's script. Brittany had to convince Santana to let her read her movie.

Rachel still looked unsure but agreed. "OK. Let's talk next week. I'll have my manager set it up."

"Great," Quinn said, sounding happy and relieved. Brittany knew Quinn wanted to sign Rachel at any cost.

"Alright," Rachel said, "I'm off. Thank you again and we should all get together again soon."

Soon after Rachel left, Sam left as well. Santana knew he had only stuck around this long because of Quinn. When Quinn had told him she was waiting for Brittany, he had reluctantly left.

"Ready to go home?" Quinn asked.

Brittany hadn't told Quinn about her plan to stay. "Umm, I...I think I'm going to stay."

"Come on Brittany, I'm tired and you need to rest," Quinn whined, "Let's go."

"I'm going to stay," Brittany said again, "I mean, I don't feel well enough to travel."

"Travel?" Quinn let out a chuckle, "We live like five miles from here. There's...oh!"

Brittany raised her eyebrows and confirmed what Quinn was thinking.

"OK," Quinn said with a smile, "Call me if you need anything."

Brittany just smiled.

Santana had watched the whole exchange and tried not to smile. Her issues with Quinn were resolved and seeing Quinn's reaction to Brittany spending the night, Santana knew she had nothing to worry about. Maybe she and Quinn could be more than just "sort of " friends.

As Quinn was leaving, she whispered to Santana. "If you hurt her, I'm going back to hating you."

Santana just smiled.

Once they were alone, they headed to the living room to watch a movie. As soon as Santana turned on the TV, Brittany grabbed the remote from Santana's hand and turned it off.

"What's wrong?" Santana wondered if Brittany was getting a headache.

"I don't want to watch a movie." Brittany put the remote on the coffee table and reached for Santana's hand. "I want to watch you."

Santana was sure she blushed. "I'm not very interesting."

"I'll decide that." Brittany brought Santana's hand to her mouth and kissed it. "I have a confession to make."

Santana raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Brittany kissed Santana's hand again. "I feel fine."

Santana felt Brittany's lips on her skin and wanted more. "Your head doesn't hurt?"

"Nope." Brittany kissed the inside of Santana's palm. "I think I just needed to eat, because after, I felt great."

Santana let our a slow breath as she watched Brittany's lips explore her hand. She moved closer. "So you don't need me to take care of you then?"

Brittany lowered Santana's hand and smiled. "I might still get amnesia, so maybe it's best if you do take care of me."

Santana closed the gap between them and gave Brittany a soft kiss on the lips. "I've been waiting way to long to be with you for you to forget. You're not getting amnesia. Not on my watch."

Brittany didn't think she had ever felt this happy. Hearing Santana talk like this was something she had been wanting ever since she had first laid eyes on her at that football game eight years ago. "OK." She returned the kiss. "So, show me where I'll be sleeping."

Santana's opened her mouth to say something but didn't know what. She had been so focused on just the idea of Brittany staying over, she never even thought about where exactly Brittany would sleep. The guest room? No, Santana wasn't sure she'd be able to handle Brittany staying in the other room. She was sure she'd turn into a creeper and listen in on the door to try to hear if Brittany as a sleep.

"Well..." Santana thought for a second. How could she suggest she and Brittany sleep in the same bed without sounding too forward. "I have a guest room." Wuss, she thought, I'm a wuss.

Brittany frowned. That wasn't what she had in mind. "Will you stay with me in the guest room?" She tried to make her voice sound as innocent as possible. She wanted to be close to Santana and not in a sexual way. Just...close.

Any nervousness she had about asking Brittany to stay with her disappeared. "No. No guest room. We'll sleep in my room."

Brittany smiled and brought Santana in for a longer kiss. She still had a hard time believing this was actually happening. "Can we go to bed now?"

Santana wrapped her arms around Brittany's neck. "It's like 7:30."

"I know, and I'm not sleepy, but I just want lay down and talk. I won't try to take advantage of you."

Santana let out a chuckle. "OK. Let's go to bed. And if you want to take advantage of me, feel free."

"We'll see." Brittany teased.

Santana moved away from Brittany and grabbed her hand to lead her to the bedroom. "I have a confession to make too."

"What's that?"

"Quinn and I had a chat," Santana said as they entered her bedroom. "We're good."

"Really?" Brittany turned Santana around. "So...it's OK? You won't get mad anymore she and I are friends?"

"I wasn't mad." Santana squeezed Brittany's hand before letting go and heading to her dresser. "I was jealous and insecure."

"I told you, you didn't have to be."

Santana took out a pair of black cotton shorts and a tank and gave them to Brittany. "You can sleep in these." She took a breath. "I believed you when you said she was just your friend, but I needed to know that Quinn only saw you as that too."

"And what did Quinn say?"

"That you're just friends."

"See? I told you Santana. There's no one else. Just you."

Santana had to stop herself from running over to Brittany and kissing her. "Go change. The bathroom is right through that door."

Brittany smiled and walked past Santana to the bathroom. This was going to be a good night.

-**tbc**-


	20. Slumber Party

Santana looked in the mirror and took a breath. She had washed her face, brushed her teeth and even sprayed on some light body spray that was the same scent as the body wash she used. She remembered Brittany like that.

Santana wasn't new to having woman waiting for her in bed, but this was different. Very different. She put on her most serious face. "Listen," She told reflection, "Keep your hands to yourself. This isn't about sex, it's about being with her and making sure she's OK." She turned to leave then looked back in the mirror. "Don't fuck this up."

With one last look to make sure she looked good, she opened the bathroom door and smiled at the sight in from of her.

Brittany heard the door and put her phone away. She had sent Quinn a quick text message about Lord Tubbington since Brittany knew he would be looking for her. She heard the door opened and looked up to see Santana wearing white shorts and tank top. This is really happening, she thought. She still couldn't believe she was sitting on Santana's bed, waiting for Santana to join her. She hoped that this wasn't some hallucination from hitting her head.

"Is this OK?" Brittany lightly patted the mattress in front of her. "I mean, me taking the right side. I know you're a lefty, so I figured you sleep on the left, but if not then I'll just…"

"Britt, it's fine," Santana said as she walked to the bed, "You made the right call." She climbed on the bed and sat with her legs crossed, facing Brittany. "I feel like we're having a slumber party."

"We are!" Brittany shifted to face Santana and mimicked her sitting. "Should we play spin the bottle or Truth or Dare?"

Santana almost said yes to both games, but either one would probably lead to certain things she was trying desperately to avoid. It was going to be hard that was for sure. Santana's gaze traveled all over Brittany's crossed legs, up to her chest and down her exposed arms. She really felt this need to reach out and touch…everywhere.

Brittany smiled and watched Santana blatantly check her out. "You need to be more careful with your leering."

"What?" Santana's head snapped up. "I'm…what?" Busted.

Brittany reached out with both hand and caressed Santana's thighs. "You don't have to pretend you're not checking me out. You can check me out all you want."

"I wasn't…" Santana wasn't sure why she felt like some dumb teenager all of a sudden. She was a grown woman who was simply admiring her…her what? Girlfriend? Almost girlfriend? Brittany.

Brittany was about to tease Santana more when she saw the purplish bruise on Santana's upper thigh where she had been shot. "Shit."

Santana looked down at her bruise. "You got me good."

"I'm really sorry," Brittany said, wishing she could take it back. "I just…you went all crazy."

"Britt, it's OK?" Santana assured with a smile. "I did go crazy."

Brittany lightly ran her thumb over the discolored flesh. "I shouldn't have shot you." Before she could help herself, Brittany bent down and lightly kissed Santana's bruise.

"Oh." Santana was caught by surprise. The last thing she expected was to see Brittany's mouth head in the general area of her center. This was not helping her with her plan to keep her hands to herself.

"Sorry," Brittany said again as she sat up. She looked at Santana's flustered face and smiled. Brittany wasn't expecting anything tonight other than some cuddling. She just wanted to spend time with Santana and get to know her again. "Are you sleepy?"

"Not even a little," Santana said, "You?"

"Nope."

"How's your head?"

Brittany reached back and touched the bump behind her head. "It's good. I got a good bump back here. I guess that makes us even? Your bruise and my bump."

"That idiot Sam is lucky I didn't castrate him," Santana said, getting angry at the memory of Sam plowing into Brittany. "He could have cracked your skull open."

"It was an accident." Brittany continued to stroke Santana's thighs. "He didn't mean it."

"I'm still going to kill him," Santana said trying to stay angry but Brittany's touch was making it impossible.

Brittany's phone alerted her to a text. She moved away from Santana and picked up her phone. "Sorry, it's Quinn."

"Some things never change," Santana said, remember how Quinn had interrupted her and Brittany that day in the parking lot of the Mexican restaurant.

"I texted her first," Brittany said, "I had to make sure she told Lord Tubbington where I am and that she gives him is bedtime snack." She finished typing her message and put the phone back on the nightstand.

"The last thing that cat needs is snacks," Santana said. She folded her arms over her legs and thought about how to ask her next question. "So, umm…how long do you think you'll be staying with Quinn?"

"I don't know. Why?"

"I know I said that this whole thing between Quinn and I is cool now," Santana explained, "But that doesn't mean I'm all that thrilled that you're living with your ex-girlfriend. And not just any ex-girlfriend, but the one who you dumped me for."

"I didn't dump you Santana," Brittany said gently, "We weren't together."

"Technicalities," Santana said crossing her arms. "Whatever, never mind." Santana didn't feel like sitting anymore. She laid down on her side of the bed, her arms still crossed and looked up at the ceiling.

Brittany reached down and uncrossed Santana's arms before settling herself next to Santana and laying her head on her chest. "I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere unless you tell me to."

Santana relaxed and hugged Brittany closer to her. "I'm sorry. I just…I know there's nothing between you and Quinn other than friendship, but I can't help it."

Brittany moved away and rested her weight on her elbows, looking at Santana. "If it makes you that uncomfortable, I'll move out."

"You would?" Santana shifted her body sideways to look at Brittany better.

Brittany nodded. All Santana had to do was ask. Brittany didn't want to mess things up, not this time. Brittany was willing to do anything to make this work.

"Why didn't you move in with Mercedes when you first got here?"

"She lives in a one bedroom apartment and Quinn has that house to herself and she doesn't make me pay rent," Brittany said, "It was just easier. Plus since I don't have a car she can give me rides to work."

Santana listened and realized Brittany had a point. Moving in with Quinn had more to do with being practical than anything else. "No, Britt. Stay at Quinn's."

"Santana…"

"You're right. It is easier," Santana said, "You just moved in and are just getting settled. You're starting work soon and the last thing you need is to move again. And besides, I'm sure Devil's Spawn already has his sacrificial alter all set up in the basement."

"No way," Brittany protested, "Lord Tubbington would never do that and besides Quinn's house doesn't have a basement."

Santana let out a chuckle. She loved Brittany's sense of humor. "I'm being silly," Santana said, "I trust you. Hell, I even trust Quinn. I'm just being jealous."

"I never realized what a jealous person you are." Brittany took Santana's hand.

"That's just it, I'm not!" Santana squeezed Brittany's hand. "I'm really not. Ask any woman I've dated.."

"I'd rather not."

"…I seem to only get all bunny-rabbit-boiling-Glen-Close with you."

"That scene was so sad. Poor bunny."

"I lost you once," Santana said, "I lost you before we even started and I'm afraid it'll happen again." Santana looked down at her and Brittany's hand and forced herself not to look at Brittany. This whole sharing her feelings things was getting way to easy and she worried that maybe there was such a thing as sharing too much.

Brittany was a little taken aback by Santana's words. She was being so honest with her feelings now that it really was amazing. Santana really had changed. "I told you, I'm not going anywhere unless you tell me to."

Santana looked up and couldn't but smile in relief. "I'm not going to tell you to."

"Good." Brittany moved up and kissed Santana lightly. "But.."

"But what, Britt?" Santana used her free hand to caress Brittany's cheek.

"What if you…what if you find out that maybe I'm not a good fit for you. Like, I still don't understand how you even want to be with me. You could have anyone you want." And there it was, Brittany's biggest fear when it came to Santana. Even back in college when she had her secret crush, she felt safe knowing that Santana would never notice her because she just a film geek. Even now, she still felt like one.

Santana cupped Brittany's face. "Hey, listen to me. I'm the one wondering what you see in me. You…I spent years trying to find someone who made me feel even a little of how you make me feel…and I couldn't."

Santana thought back to the women she had attempted to date during the last few years. Not one stood out as particularly memorable and were mostly just fun. Brittany had been the last person she had wanted to be serious with, and to this day, she remained the only one.

Brittany leaned forward and captured Santana's lips with her own. She wanted to show Santana that she wanted to be with her just as much. She moved up and settled herself half on top of Santana, not breaking the kiss.

Santana wrapped her arms around Brittany's neck and brought her closer. Her plan to keep things G-rated had failed. She couldn't even think of putting a stop to this now when Brittany's tongue was in her mouth. All Santana could do was moan. She was never going to let Brittany go, she was sure of that.

Brittany kept trying to tell herself to stop. To get off Santana, to stop her tongue from exploring Santana's mouth, but couldn't. Santana felt amazing, and made Brittany feel amazing. Brittany wasn't sure just cuddling would happen now. She adjusted herself until she was fully on top, straddling on of her thighs.

"I only..want…you," Brittany breathed into plump lips.

"I know," Santana breathed back and kissed Brittany again. And again. She didn't want to stop but knew she had to because Brittany soon began rocking her thigh between Santana's center and sending waves of pleasure through Santana's body. "Britt.."

Brittany moved from Santana's lips to her neck. Sh wanted to taste every inch. She didn't think she had ever tasted anything so good. "That night…in the parking lot…remember?"

"Ah…mm hmm." Santana moved her neck to give Brittany more access and lost herself in the feel of Brittany's lips sucking on her skin.

"I almost…" Brittany rocked against Santana just a little faster. She was starting to feel like her whole body was on fire. "If we hadn't stopped…"

"Me too," Santana said running her hands down Brittany's back.

"I should get off…" Brittany kissed down Santana's neck to her collarbone.

"You keep grinding like that…I'm sure we both will." Santana's hands found their way to Brittany's ass and squeezed.

Brittany gave one last thrust against Santana and rolled off to the side. "I meant…I meant off of you."

Santana felt like she had been hit with a cold gust of wind as soon as Brittany was off her, she didn't like it. She wanted to feel Brittany's warmth again so she rolled over and positioned herself on top of Brittany. "I thought you meant the other…off."

Brittany smiled and kissed Santana again and felt Santana's hand move up and down her thigh, caressing. "S…'Tana…we have…" She didn't finish her sentence because Santana's tongue was now in he mouth. Again. Santana's touch was like the best drug ever and Brittany never wanted to stop taking it because it made her whole body buzz. Brittany lifted her leg higher and thrust upwards, looking for more contact. She was so wet already and needed Santana to touch her everywhere. "Stop…"

Santana knew Brittany was right. They had to stop because things were starting to get out of control. Santana was sure she had never been more turned on in her life. OK, maybe not since that day in the parking lot. Or that night on Brittany's couch. Or the other day on Brittany's new couch. She felt her center throb and her underwear sticking to her. "Fuck."

Santana rolled off and laid on her back staring at the ceiling. Her breathing haggard, just like Brittany's. "Maybe you should go to the guest room."

"I'll probably just sneak back in here." Brittany was serious. She totally would.

Santana turned to her side to face Brittany. "I wanted to keep this night G-rated."

"That was definitely PG-13," Brittany said as she rolled to her side to face Santana, "Maybe R."

"I want you," Santana said seriously, "But…this is different. It's not like last time when I just wanted to sleep with you…without feelings. I want you...with feelings."

"We have feelings," Brittany said, "It's not like last time. You want to date me, right?"

"More than anything."

"Well, I want to date you." Brittany took a breath before asking her next question. "Do you want to be my girlfriend?"

Santana felt her breath hitch. She smiled. "More than anything."

Brittany grinned. Eight years. Eight years she had had her eye on Santana and now, finally it was happening. Santana wanted to be her girlfriend. "Then us being together will be special."

"I'd like to at least take you out on a proper date first," Santana said. She reached over and ran her thumb across Brittany's lower lip. "Wine and dine you and all that."

Brittany closed her eyes and kissed Santana's thumb. When she opened them, she saw the lust in Santana's eyes. "When I said I'd stay over, I wanted to just have a night of cuddling. But…that was before you said you'd be my girlfriend."

"And now?" Santana squeezed her thighs together when she felt Brittany's tongue lick her thumb.

"Now, I don't need wine or dinner first," Brittany said, "But we can wait if you want."

Santana removed her hand from Brittany's mouth and sat up. Brittany in turn sat up and leaned her back against the headboard. "I know we should wait," Santana said, "We only reconnected like a week ago and now look at us. Making out in my bed. Talk about fast!"

"Yeah, but remember, we hit the pause button, so not that fast," Brittany said.

Santana smiled and straddled Brittany, sitting on top of her. She wanted nothing more than to make love to Brittany but even if they didn't go on a date first, there was something Santana wanted Brittany to know. "I have a confession to make."

"What?" Brittany began playing with the hem of Santana's shirt. She really wanted to take it off.

"It's about the script."

"I know," Brittany said. She moved her hand down and ran them up and down Santana's thighs, careful with the bruise. She loved how they felt.

"You know? So, you read the story?"

"What?"

"My short story, the one I told you the script was based on," Santana explained, "You read it?"

"No, I told you I wouldn't read it until you said so." Brittany was getting confused. What was Santana talking about?

"What do you know then?" Santana felt a slight panic at the thought of Brittany reading the story before she could explain. But Brittany wasn't mad, so maybe she hadn't read it.

"I know you lied about not knowing where it is and that's OK," Brittany said, "I get it."

"How did you know?"

"You're super organized," Brittany said with a smile, "And the way you love writing and your work, no way would you ever misplace anything when it came to that."

Santana let out a shy chuckle and felt her checks flush. She loved the feeling of Brittany knowing her so well and hoped she'd feel that feeling for years to come. "Are you mad?"

"Nope," Brittany said, "But I do want to know why you lied. Do you not want to make it into a movie? I'll make it good, I promise."

"No, honey, that's not it," Santana assured. She placed her hand on top of Brittany's stoping the movements on Santana's thighs. "I know you'll make a great movie. It's just that…I told you the script isn't a love story."

"And I told you that was awesome," Brittany said, "I'm not interested in filming another Katherine Heigel rom-com."

Santana took a long breath and just said it. "The script is about us."

"Us?"

Santana nodded. "After that day in the editing room, I was so sad and angry that I couldn't write. I couldn't do anything really."

Brittany always thought Santana was just mad, but hearing that she was so sad she couldn't write, because of her, mad Brittany's heart sink. "I'm sorry."

"Don't," Santana said softly, "It's the past. It's over."

"And the story?"

Santana interlocked her fingers between Brittany's fingers. "The day you left, I was trying to write a story and had the biggest writer's block. Then Kurt stopped by and gave me your message. Do you remember what it was?"

Brittany smiled at the memory. "I owe you a banana split rematch."

"I'm still holding you up to that." Santana continued to play with Brittany's fingers. "Anyway, he gave me your message and I just staring writing. I wrote and wrote and finished in record time."

"So, the story is about you and me?" Brittany still wasn't sure what was going on. "So this script is about us? Like, is it a movie about tutoring?"

Santana took a deep breath. "It's about a girl who falls in love with someone she can never have and how that person completely destroys the girl's ability to ever love anyone."

Brittany blinked in surprised. That story sounded so depressing. "What…am I the girl or are you?"

"I'm the girl," Santana said gently, "You're…you're the bad guy."

Brittany let go of Santana's hand and crossed her arms. "How did I destroy your ability to love? I…you weren't even in love with me…that's not what happened."

"Britt, listen to me." Santana cupped Brittany's face in her hands and made her look at her. "I was angry and heartbroken and that story is only based on what happened between us. It's not all about us. The whole story takes place in an ad agency not a college. I just…I needed a way to deal with what happened so I wrote that story."

Brittany needed to read this needed to know what Santana wrote about them. "Can I read it?"

Santana let go of Brittany and slowly nodded. "I have a copy of the script in the living room." She began to move off of Brittany when she felt strong hands hold her in place.

"Wait." Brittany shook her head. What was she doing? It was just a story that was written years ago. Now, this moment, she had Santana.

"I was going to get the script."

"Were you in love with me?" Brittany asked, her heart racing.

"I think I was," Santana answered softly, "But I know I am now."

Santana was full of surprises tonight. "You…wait. You're in love with me now?"

Santana wanted Brittany to know that story was not how she felt now. Was she in love with Brittany? Yes. Yes, she was and she was going to make sure Brittany knew it.

"I…look at you and I turn into this insecure dork. You make me blush with just your smile and make me feel like I can do anything." Santana took a breath. "I've never been able to picture myself in a real relationship with anyone, except you. You're so weird and funny and beautiful…like no one I've ever met…"

Brittany swallowed and felt tears forming. "Santana…"

"You make me, you make me want to try." Santana finished and and waited for a response. Halfway through her speech she realized she may be coming on too strong too fast, but she couldn't stop. She saw tears in Brittany's eyes and hoped they were good tears. But when Brittany didn't say anything, Santana started to panic. "Umm…maybe that was too much…can we go back to talking about the script? I don't…"

Brittany practically lunged forward and kissed Santana. "I've been in love with you since I saw you at that football game."

"You have?" Santana felt like a rock of doubt had been lifted from her chest.

Brittany wanted to laugh because she was so happy and prayed again that this wasn't some sort of hallucination from hitting her head. "I have. You saw, I even collected pictures of you. I saw you at that game, and I couldn't stop staring at you."

Santana brought Brittany's lips to hers again. "What game?"

"The one where our mascot fell and tripped over that bench and broke his arm. Remember?" Brittany bended her knees forcing Santana to slide closer to her. "Mercedes took me cause she was dating that player and we got to sit right in front of where you were performing. I saw you and you had me hooked."

Santana did remember that game because it had made the local news. The video of their mascot tripping and breaking his arm had gone viral and it was the talk of the school for days. She tried to remember the routines the squad did, but everything was fuzzy.

"Remember when you said you wish you had seen me too?" Brittany continued, "We'll, you did."

"I did?"

Brittany hugged Santana closer. "It was after intermission…"

"Half time," Santana corrected with a smile.

"…You were yelling at the squad about something and you looked up to the stands and looked right at me."

Santana placed a light kiss on Brittany's lips. "No way, I would have remembered you and tracked you down and asked you out."

"It's OK, you didn't notice me," Brittany assured, "I was just a part of the crowd."

"What did I do?" Santana tried really hard to remember that game, but couldn't. She hated to think she may have come in contact with Brittany without having realized it. "Did I give you a sexy smirk?"

Brittany laughed. "No. You kinda gave me a 'What the fuck' face and I was so freaked out that you caught me staring, I looked away. Then you went back to cheerleading and you didn't look at me again for two years."

"I wish I could remember." Santana said.

Brittany moved her hands to caress Santana's back, under her shirt. "That moment lasted like two seconds, eight years ago."

Santana rested her forehead on Brittany's. "I'm going to look at you now. All the time." Santana felt her breathing quicken a bit when Brittany began caressing her bare back.

"Good," Brittany said, kissing Santana's cheek. "Don't worry about the script. Not now. We'll talk about it later because right now, I just want to kiss my girlfriend all night."

"Britt…" Santana breathed, "You know this is going to be more than kissing."

"That's fine too," Brittany smirked.

Santana felt Brittany's hands move to her side and then to her stomach. "Are you sure you don't want to go on a date first?" Santana braced herself on Brittany's shoulders when she felt Brittany's hands move up from her stomach and cup both her breasts.

"I told you, I don't need wine or food to know I want to be with you." Brittany began kneading Santana's breasts on top of her bra. The throbbing between her legs she had felt earlier was back in full force.

"Oh God," Santana moaned. She really wanted to take this damn shirt off and give Brittany better access. She felt like she was going crazy with want. "What happened to…to the shy film student I used to know?"

Brittany let go of Santana's breasts and went to take off Santana's shirt. Brittany threw the shirt on the floor and then removed Santana's bra. "She grew up." Brittany then proceeded to take one of Santana's nipples in her mouth.

Santana felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. She gasped loudly and rested her chin on top of Brittany's head as Brittany sucked on her breast. "Fuck." When she could form coherent thought, Santana reached down for the hem of Brittany's shirt and began to pull it up. "Take it off."

Brittany reluctantly unattached her self from Santana. "I wasn't finished."

Santana moved off of Brittany and kneeled beside her.

"Come here. Your turn," Santana said.

Brittany moved to her knees, just like Santana. They faced each other as Brittany removed her own top and bra.

Santana watched in awe as she was finally able to see Brittany in such an intimate way. She was move beautiful than she imagined.

They stared at each other, their breathing heavy. For all the arousal they felt, they didn't touch. Only looked.

"Keep going," Santana managed to say. She felt like her heart was going to beat out of her chest.

Still on her knees, on the bed, Brittany placed her hands on her hips and pushed down her shorts, underwear included. She managed to wiggle out of the last bit of clothing and threw it to the side.

Santana had to fight the urge to pounce, "Br…." Santana tired to say Brittany's name but forgot how to talk. Brittany was beautiful and Santana made sure to move her eyes over every inch of Brittany's body.

"I want to see you," Brittany said softly. She always thought that if she ever slept with Santana she'd be more nervous but Brittany was surprised at how comfortable and normal being naked in front of Santana felt.

Santana used all her strength to do as Brittany asked. She also slid her bottoms down and was soon naked as well. She felt the wetness between her legs increase, the throbbing in her center intensifying.

Brittany licked her lips and slowly moved closer. She pressed their bodied together and kissed her. Their kissing became frantic, their bodies hot. Brittany moved Santana around and laid her down, Brittany on top.

Santana was loving the sensation of having Brittany's naked body move against hers. Her hands roamed all over, discovering.

Brittany settled herself between Santana's legs and felt Santana's arousal.

"Ahh," Santana moaned, her body aching.

Brittany stopped and looked into Santana's eyes. This was where she belonged, with her. With Santana.

"Why did you stop?" Santana asked, caressing Brittany's cheek.

"I just want to look at you," Brittany said with a smile.

Santana smiled in return. She was filled with a happiness she couldn't explain. Looking up at Brittany, she felt...complete.

"I missed you," Santana said.

"I missed you too," Brittany said. She kissed Santana again, to stop the tears that were threatening to to fall.

Brittany deepened the kiss and Santana gladly welcomed Brittany's tongue. Their kissing became desperate, yet gentle. Brittany rubbed her body in unison with Santana's. All their time apart seemed like it never happened. Their bodies moved like they had been together all along.

Brittany felt like she was on fire. She needed to feel Santana, to see if she was just was wet. Brittany moved her hand between them and found Santana's soaking center.

"Oh fuck!" Santana said letting out a sharp breath.

"You..you're so wet," Brittany breathed, amazed. She began to move her fingers between Santana's folds, exploring, feeling.

Santana tried to catch her breath. Brittany was stroking her, feeling her and Santana couldn't think. She felt herself tighten, her whole body tingling at Brittany's touch.

"Br...AHH!"

Brittany watched Santana as her features changed, as her arousal grew. It was a beautiful sight. How could I not want her, Brittany thought. Now, looking at Santana, she couldn't understand how she had wanted anyone else. She teased Santana's clit, grazing it, rubbing it.

"OH FUCK!" Santana said, arching her back, "Britt..!"

"Let me see you," Brittany said, increasing her rhythm, and thrusting her fingers inside, "Come for me."

Santana was lost. Her plan had been for Brittany to be first, but somewhere along Brittany's kisses and hands, that plan had gone out the window.

Brittany knew Santana was close. She increased her speed, leaning closer to rub their breasts together. Santana liked that.

"OH GOD!" Santana screamed. Her body tightened, her eyes closed. She felt Brittany grind her body against hers, felt Brittany's fingers inside, exploring, felt Brittany's thumb rub faster and faster. She gripped Brittany's back as her body convulsed and released.

"AHH…!" Santana came hard.

Brittany watched Santana and felt like she too would come just by looking at her. Her hand was soaked with Santana's sweet liquid and she had to fight the urge to bring her hand up and smell it, taste it.

Santana's breathing slowing came back to normal, and she was able to open her eyes again. She saw Brittany, her eyes full of desire, looking down at her, "Hi," was all she said.

Brittany slowly moved her hand up Santana's body, leaving a trace of desire across Santana's body. She brought her hand to her mouth and licked her fingers, "Mmm."

Santana watched Brittany and was instantly aroused again by watching that erotic act. She leaned up and claimed Brittany's mouth, thrusting her tongue inside. Santana flipped Brittany over, it was her turn.

"My turn to have a taste," Santana said softly, as she hovered over Brittany.

Brittany was already so aroused that Santana's words threatened to send her over the edge. She tried to speak but couldn't.

Santana took one of Brittany's breast in her mouth causing Brittany to take in a sharp breath. Santana moved on from the breast down to Brittany's stomach, to her hipbone and finally to her intended destination. Santana spread Brittany's legs wider. She intended to go slow, to savor Brittany, but Brittany's moans and raised hips told her to hurry. Santana smiled.

"'Tana...," Brittany tried to say. All she wanted was Santana to touch her, to help her stop the throbbing. She needed release.

Santana licked Brittany's clit and began to suckle.

"OH FUCK!" Brittany screamed out, gripping the sheets on either side of her.

Santana continued her assault, loving every drop, every bit of Brittany's folds her tongue and lips came in contact with. She could do this forever.

Brittany felt like she had lost control. She felt her body tighten, her breathing labored, her knuckles straining from gripping the sheets. Just knowing it was Santana that was doing this to her was erotic enough and she almost came at the thought. She felt Santana's tongue and lips moving over every inch of her center, making Brittany feel dizzy. She couldn't hold on anymore.

"MMM…AHHH!" Brittany let out as she came.

Santana continued to move her mouth around Brittany's center as Brittany's breathing came back to normal.

"Come here," Brittany finally said, recovering.

Santana moved up, wiping her mouth along the way. She reached Brittany and placed a small kiss on her lips, "Best dessert ever. I plan to do that again."

"I plan to let you," Brittany said.

Santana settled herself on top of Brittany, burying her face in her neck, loving Brittany's scent.

"Santana," Brittany said, running her hand through Santana's hair, "We have to make it this time. We can't fuck up."

Santana lifted her head, "No fucking up," she said seriously, "I don't think I could take losing you again."

"Me neither," Brittany said. She moved to kiss Santana again. Kissing Santana was now her favorite thing in the world. "We have to make it cause I don't think I could be your friend."

Santana brushed her hair back. "What?"

Brittany looked up at Santana and tried to smile. "I love you. I've been wanting to be with you for so long….if this doesn't work…I don't think I can just be your friend. Not like I am with the other people I've dated. This feels different and I can't just be your frie…"

Santana silenced Brittany with a kiss. "I can't be just your friend either. So, we'll be both. Friends and lovers, OK? We'll be both."

Brittany hugged Santana closer and buried her face in Santana's neck. "Both."

"We're going to be OK," Santana assured. She moved off of Brittany and laid on her side, facing her.

Brittany turned to her side to face Santana, "We're going to be OK," she repeated.

Santana looked at Brittany and hoped to every God anyone ever believed in, that this wasn't some dream. That reuniting with Brittany did happen. No one else could offer her what Brittany could.

Brittany reached out and ran her thumb across Santana's lower lip, thinking of how lucky she was that she had gotten another chance.

###

Brittany gave one last lick to Santana's clit before moving up her girlfriend's body. "You taste delicious."

Santana covered her face with her hands and tried to calm her breathing after having the best orgasm of her life. So far. "Fuck...Britt...I think I...pulled a muscle..when I...came."

"Want me to kiss it better?" Brittany asked as she licked the skin between Santana's breast.

Santana reached for Brittany's face and brought her in for a kiss. This was their third go around and Santana felt like she could go 10 more times. "I want...I want you to kiss everywhere." Santana was sure she had died and gone to heaven.

"I think I already have," Brittany teased. She kissed Santana's neck and then licked the sweat that was dripping down Santana's jawline. "But I'd totally love to do it again."

"I love you," Santana said into Brittany's ear, "I'm not letting you go this time."

"Good," Brittany said moving to look into Santana's eyes, "Cause even if you told me to go, I couldn't. I love you and you're stuck with me."

Santana was sure she had the goofiest smile on her face. This is what all those songs and books meant when they talked about love. She understood now and they took on a whole new meaning. "And you're stuck with me."

"I want to taste you again." Brittany nibbled on Santana's lower lip. "You're the best candy."

"Candy?" Santana couldn't help but laugh. "I'm your candy?"

Brittany sucked on Santana's chin before answering. "Delicious candy." Brittany felt Santana's legs wrap around her waist and moaned. "I can't wait to tell everyone."

"You planning on telling everyone we made love?" Santana asked, "I'm not sure I want those fools knowing our business."

"I mean, I can't wait to tell everyone we're together," Brittany said, "Officially. Girlfriends."

"You're my girlfriend," Santana said. She still couldn't believe it.

"I am," Brittany said, "And you're mine." Brittany kissed Santana, slowly and tried to show how much she loved her with that kiss.

Santana let herself get lost in Brittany. Again. It was becoming so easy and she loved it, she'd do anything for her. "Mmm."

Brittany felt drunk. She felt like her senses were drowning in Santana's taste, smell, and touch. She couldn't think of anything better. "What are you doing tomorrow?"

"You."

Brittany giggled. "Duh. Besides me."

"All I want to do is be with you," Santana said, honestly. There was nothing else she wanted to do but be with the woman she loved.

"I was thinking that maybe we can try another date with Lord Tubbington."

"And I was thinking of us staying at my place and having sex all day long. We have six years to make up for." Santana squeezed her legs tighter around Brittany's waist. Maybe she could go for round four now.

"We can spend all morning together," Brittany said, "But I really want you to be buddies with Lord Tubbington."

"He hates me, Britt," Santana said, "And I'm not fond of him either."

Brittany pouted.

Santana saw the pout and was defeated. "OK, fine. Tomorrow afternoon I'll try again."

"Really?" Brittany smiled.

"Really." Santana loved and hated that she'd do anything for this woman. Even make friends with a damn cat.

Brittany kissed Santana. "Thank you."

###

Round four didn't happen. Instead they both fell asleep wrapped in each other's arms.

Brittany tightened her grip on Santana and buried her face in Santana's neck. When they had decided to take a rest, Santana wanted to be the big spoon, but Brittany convinced her she should be the big spoon. It made sense, she was taller. She wasn't sure what time it was and she really didn't care. All she cared about was being close to Santana.

Santana wasn't sure if she was asleep or awake. She felt arms tighten around her and she smiled. "You awake?"

Brittany kissed Santana's shoulder. "A little. What time is it?"

Santana opened her eyes and looked at the digital clock on her night stand. "5:42."

"Too early..." Brittany brought Santana even closer. "I'm so tired."

Santana yawned. "We did have quite a workout."

Brittany didn't respond. She had fallen back asleep.

###

Santana stretched and slowly opened her eyes. The room was bright with the morning sun. She turned to her side and smiled at the sight in front of her. Brittany's bare back was exposed and blond hair spread across her pillow. Santana moved closer to her girlfriend, yes girlfriend, and began placing light kisses on her back.

Brittany was already awake when she felt Santana's lips on her back. "Is it time to get up?"

"Mmm hmm." Santana moved up to kiss Brittany's shoulder. "Time to pick up where we left off."

Brittany turned around and came face to face with a smiling Santana. A smiling Santana with bed hair that made her giggle.

"What's so funny?" Santana had expected to see a turned on Brittany and not one that laughed at her.

"You're hair is all crazy," Brittany said, "You look super cute."

Santana ran her hand through her hair. "That is not the sexy wake up I was expecting."

"You do see that I'm totally naked, right?" Brittany said pointing at her bare chest.

Santana smirked and removed the sheet from her own chest. "Me too."

Brittany bit her lip and took in a breath. Topless Santana was probably the best thing she had ever woken up to.

Santana knew that look in Brittany's eyes. She braced herself for Brittany to pounce on her. Brittany sat up and Santana waited in anticipation. But when Brittany threw the sheet aside, instead of going for Santana, she practically ran to the bathroom.

"Britt?" Again, this was not the sexy she was expecting to wake up to. She then heard the water run. "Britt, what are you doing?"

"_Meme ashec."_

"What?"

Santana heard gargling and the sound of the water turning off. Within seconds, Brittany, gloriously naked, sprinted back to the bed and got under the covers.

"What was that?" Santana asked.

"Morning breath," Brittany explained a little out of breath from her run. "It's our first morning together and I didn't want you to kiss me when my breath is all gross and stuff."

Santana couldn't help but chuckle. That was actually one of the most thoughtful things she had ever heard. When she saw Brittany reach for her, Santana got out of bed.

"Where are you going?" Brittany asked.

"Well, I'm not going to be the one with morning breath." Santana winked and headed to the bathroom knowing Brittany was checking her out.

It was Brittany's turn to laugh. When Santana came back to bed, Brittany's wasn't laughing anymore. Santana reached for her and gave her their fist morning kiss. "Minty."

Santana smiled and gently pushed Brittany back down on the bed. "Are you hungry? I can make you an omelette. I don't want to brag, but they're really good."

"Yeah, I'm actually really hungry," Brittany said wrapping her arms around Santana's neck. "But can you cook naked? Cause I really like Naked Santana."

She shouldn't blush, especially after everything they did last night, but Santana did. How Brittany managed to do that, she would never understand. "I really like Naked Brittany. But, me cooking naked might be dangerous."

"I guess. I don't want you to burn your boobs or anything," Brittany said seriously.

"You're so fucking adorable, I can't even take it," Santana said through her laugh.

"Take it where?"

Santana kissed Brittany before getting up. "Come on. Let's get dressed."

Brittany just shrugged her shoulders and got up.

###

Brittany finished every last bit of food on her plate. Santana wasn't lying. This omelet was the best Brittany had ever had. "You may have to cook me breakfast all the time now."

Santana took a sip of her coffee before answering. "I'd love to." This was so surreal for Santana. It felt so...domestic. She had never cooked breakfast for anyone she dated. Hell, she hadn't cooked breakfast for anyone who wasn't someone from her family. Looking at Brittany enjoy her cooking, made Santana feel really proud of herself and loved the idea of cooking more breakfasts for Brittany. Lunches and Dinners too.

"Can I kiss the cook?"

Santana didn't have time to answer because Brittany was already up and giving her a kiss. "I was going to say yes."

"You took too long to answer," Brittany said sitting back down. "So, after breakfast, I was thinking we could stop by my place, so I can change and also so you can hang out with Lord Tubbbington."

"I thought we were going to have a sexy morning," Santana said. "I'm sure Tubbs is still asleep."

"He wakes up super early." Brittany got up and grabbed her and Santana's plate and took it to the sink. She turned on the water and began to wash the dishes.

"Britt, I'll wash those.."

"Nope, too late." Brittany finished up washing and drying the plates. She opened the cupboard in front of her and stopped. Inside was something she recognized. "Is this...is this the banana split bowl we used for the competition?"

Santana put her coffe down and looked at Brittany. "That's the one."

"You kept it all this time?" Brittany was more than surprised.

Santana got up and walked over to Brittany. "I never used it. Just that one time, but I just never thought about throwing it out."

Brittany wrapped her arms around Santana's neck and kissed her. Seeing that bowl made her weirdly happy for some reason.

Santana lightly bit Brittany's lip. "If that gets you excited, I think I have a George Foreman Grill in that other cabinate."

"I still have your hoodie," Brittany said. She gave Santana one last kiss and stepped back.

"Hoodie?"

"Your ULA sweatshirt you let me borrow that night," Brittany explained, "I still have it."

Santana felt the corners of her mouth tug up in a smile.

"I just couldn't throw it out," Brittany said softly.

Santana gave Brittany one more kiss. "Come on."

Brittany let Santana lead her back to the bedroom. "Is it sexy morning time?"

"Yes."

###

It was a little past noon when they finally managed to get showered and dressed. Brittany sat in the living room wearing one of Santana's skirts and shirt since she didn't have any of her clothes with her.

"Ready?" Santana asked coming to the living room with her bag and car keys in hand.

"I could have been ready hours ago, but someone got all handsy in the shower," Brittany teased.

"Umm, you were wet and naked," Santana said, "That was all your fault."

"Sure," Brittany said getting up.

"And you didn't exactly keep you hands to yourself either, you know," Santana accused.

"You were wet and naked. That was all you're fault."

"Come one," Santana laughed opening the front door, "Let's get out of here before...more stuff happens."

"Wait." Brittany played with her hands, "The, the script. You said you had it the living room."

Santana's smile faded. Right. The script. She walked over to the bookcase on the far right and reached for the top shelf. She slowly pulled out the script and removed some light dust that had settled around the edges. She hadn't taken this thing out in years. She went over to Brittany and handed it over. "Here you go."

"Thanks."

"Just remember that I wrote that years ago," Santana said, "That's not me now. I love you. Remember that when you read it."

"I know." Brittany put the script in her bag and grabbed Santana's hand. "Come on. Lord Tubbington awaits."

Santana didn't know what was worse. Brittany reading a story that painted her as a heartless monster or Brittany making her be friends with a damn cat.

**-tbc-**

* * *

**A/N: Thank you all so much for reading and sticking with this. 800+ reviews and follows is more than I ever thought I'd get. You guys rock. **


	21. Pathetic

Santana pulled into the driveway and turned off the engine. She noticed Quinn's car wasn't there.

"I guess Quinn's not home," she said.

"She usually spends Sundays with her mom," Brittany said.

"That's too bad. I wanted to say hi." Santana was actually disappointed Quinn wasn't home.

Brittany couldn't help but chuckle. "You just want to tell her we're together now."

Santana let out a huff and was about to deny Brittany's accusations, but couldn't. "Maybe."

With one last giggle, Brittany got out of the car and headed to the front door.

Santana followed Brittany inside and looked around for signs of the beast. Not five seconds later, Devil's Spawn come waddling to greet Brittany. Santana was glad she decided to wear jeans and hopefully prevent another attack on her leg. "You really should put him on a diet."

Brittany bent down and picked up a meowing Lord Tubbington and cradles him in her arms. She loved that even though she had only had him a short time, he was already greeting her when she got home. "Hi sweetie. Did you miss me?"

The cat purred. Santana rolled her eyes. She hated that she was feeling a little jealous of the sweet voice Brittany was using on the fat cat. She rolled her eyes again. It was one thing to be jealous of Quinn but quite another to be jealous of a cat. A damn cat.

Brittany gave Lord Tubbington one last squeeze before fully turning around and facing Santana. "Remember Santana? She's here to play with you."

Santana took a breath and looked the cat in the eyes and was sure the thing gave her a dirty look.

Brittany smiled when she heard Lord Tubbington purr. It was important that her kitty and the woman she loved got along. "See, he likes you."

Santana forced herself to smile.

"Come on, let's go to the living room," Brittany said as she carried her cat to the couch and set him down. She put her bag on the table and waited for Santana to join her. Brittany saw the script fall out of her bag and hit the floor. She bent to pick it up, but Santana got to it first.

Santana clutched at the script and sat down. She wondered if giving Brittany the script was a good idea.

"Santana?"

"Please remember that I wrote this six years ago," Santana said softly. She looked into Brittany's eyes so Brittany could see just how much she meant what she was about to say. "The characters, your character, everything is an exaggeration for the story. The character based on you is a heartless, selfish person but I don't think you are like that at all. I didn't think like that back then either…I just needed to add more complexity to the story…I love you. I don't want this story to ruin what we have now."

Brittany wasn't prepared for Santana's speech. Santana looked so worried and even scared. Did she think this story would break them up, Brittany wondered, what is that bad?

"Santana." Brittany reached over and took the script from Santana's hands. She tossed it on the table and scooted closer to her girlfriend. "I know about stories. I make movies remember? It's all bigger than it really is. Do you think reading that script will make me stop loving you?"

Santana bit her lip and shrugged her shoulders.

Brittany leaned in and kissed Santana hoping that would ease her worry. "I love you. I've been in love with you for so long that there is no way some story will change that. How do you feel about me now?"

Santana looked into the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen. "I'm so in love with you that it fucking scares me. I try to picture myself years in the future, you're there. And I'm scared I'm going to mess this up. I'm scared that you'll read that story and be mad at me and leave."

Brittany felt like she couldn't catch her breath. Hearing that Santana was so scared of losing her made her chest tighten. No one had ever expressed such intense feelings to her. Brittany thought back to all her past relationships and they all seemed like a blur. She and Santana had only been officially together a few hours and it was already more intense and powerful than any other relationship.

"I might be mad," Brittany said, "I might not. I don't know. But I do know that I'm in love with you and I'm not going to leave over some silly story. I waited eight years to be with you. If you ever want to get rid of me, you need to get one of those restringing things they have on all those cop shows."

Santana let out a laugh and wiped away the tears that had formed. Brittany made her laugh like no one else could. "Same goes for me."

Brittany smiled and kissed Santana again. Yes. Kissing Santana was her new favorite thing. Right behind making love to Santana. Followed by hearing Santana laugh. Brittany pulled back just enough so she could speak. "I never gave you a tour of the house."

"Mmm. No you didn't."

"Wanna see my room?" Brittany asked and lightly bit Santana's lower lip.

"Da sounds…like a 'erfect 'lace to start." Santana tried her best to say.

Brittany let go of Santana's lip and got up. "Follow me."

Santana followed Brittany to her room leaving a forgotten Lord Tubbington on the couch.

###

Brittany opened the door to her room, pulled Santana in and turn to face her. "This is my room."

Santana looked around and the sparsely furnished bedroom. There was a bed and a dresser and boxes all along the wall. "Still unpacking, I see."

"I'll get around to it," Brittany said, "I like to pack and unpack slowly. It's like saying hello or goodbye has more meaning."

Santana shook her head and smiled. She looked to her right and saw an open box. She looked inside and saw some awards, movie awards. "Look at all these awards. Almost as many as mine. Almost."

"It's nothing big," Brittany said shyly, "Just some independent movie things and commercials."

"Don't do that," Santana said, "Don't underestimate yourself, OK? You got these because you're talented and do amazing work."

"I'm OK."

Santana stepped closer to Brittany and took her hands in hers. "Remember when I was tutoring you and I had those rules?"

Brittany nodded.

"Well they still apply," Santana went on, "Don't put you or your work down. I won't hear it."

"OK," Brittany said through her smile. Once again, Santana made her feel like she could do anything. It really was both touching and arousing.

As Santana started turning around, Brittany reached out, grabbed Santana's face with her hands and kissed her.

Santana took less than a second to respond. She pulled Brittany closer and allowed all the desire she had for this woman take over. She didn't have to hold back anymore.

Brittany pushed Santana until the back of Santana's legs hit the edge of the front of the bed. She fell back, with Brittany falling on top.

"What...mmmmmmm...what about Quinn…what if she comes home?" Santana asked between breaths.

"She'll be gone all day probably," Brittany said breathless as she lifted her self up and started unbuttoning Santana's shirt.

It was proving difficult for Santana to get out of her shirt, so Brittany got off her and stood up, guiding Santana into a sitting position.

Santana frantically got rid of her shirt and thought she saw a button fly off somewhere. With Brittany standing right in front of her, Santana reached up and lifted Brittany's top over her head. She then immediately pulled down Brittany's skirt. Santana's hands were shaking from excitement.

Brittany took off her sandals and stepped out of her skirt and felt the the cold wind hit her already wet center.

Santana's arousal increased ten fold as she discovered Brittany wasn't wearing underwear.

"Is this normal thing?" Santana asked running her hands down Brittany's hips, thighs.

"You ruined the ones I wore yesterday," Brittany said, pushing Santana back on the bed. To give them more room, Santana moved further back.

"You're so beautiful," Santana said almost amazed.

Brittany fell on top of Santana again, capturing her mouth in a deep kiss. When she kissed Santana, Brittany felt safe and everything made sense.

Santana felt pressure building in the pit of her stomach already. Brittany's tongue was probing her mouth, deep inside, dancing with her own.

Brittany began to grind her naked body against Santana's, causing Santana to let out a loud moan.

"Oh God!" Santana said breaking the kiss, her voice catching in her throat. Santana's felt like she couldn't get enough air, like she couldn't get enough of Brittany. She needed to touch her, needed to feel all of Brittany. Santana moved her hand between Brittany's thighs and managed to slip a finger down and feel Brittany's desire. But only for a second.

"No," Brittany said taking Santana's hand away, " Not yet."

"Please," Santana pleaded.

"Wait, baby," Brittany said as she took both of Santana's hand placing them over Santana's head.

Santana saw Brittany look at her with an intense desire and lust she had never seen. The desire was combined with a control, a self confidence in Brittany that was new to Santana. This change from the shy film student she had met all those years ago to this confident woman aroused her to no end. Santana had always wanted to be the one in control, but she would gladly give that up for Brittany. Only for her.

"I'm going to… make you mine," Brittany said in a very soft, lustful voice. She moved one hand down and to the top button on Santana's pants. Brittany was never one to be possessive, but she was felt possessive of Santana.

With one swift movement, Brittany unbuttoned Santana's pants and pulled down her zipper.

Santana felt like she was about to explode with anticipation. She had never expected that giving herself to Brittany would be...this...erotic, this hot. Last night was more sensual as they were just getting to know each other. But this, Santana thought, this was ...

She never finished her thought as Brittany's hand slid down her pants, underneath her underwear, past smooth skin...grazing her clit.

"Brii," Santana moaned, opening her legs wider.

"Mmm," Brittany said sliding down and sliding two fingers in her.

As Brittany's fingers began to thrust in and out of Santana, their moans and erratic breathing filled the air. Santana's hips rocked in rhythm with Brittany's hand.

"Oh God...Brittany ...," Santana said freeing her hand from Brittany's grip, "I...fuck...I need to touch...ahhh...you."

Before Santana had a chance to lower her hand, Brittany stopped her.

"No," Brittany said breathless, her hand never stopping, She lowered her mouth to Santana's ear, "Come for me first...come for me first, then you can touch me all you want."

Brittany wasn't sure she was herself anymore. This wasn't like her. But she loved it and she saw that Santana loved it. Yeah, she'd have to be possessive more often now.

Santana couldn't think straight and was loving every second of it. She needed to touch Brittany but she knew this new Brittany would not allow it until she got what she wanted. Santana let go, let the sensation of Brittany's fingers going in and out of her, let the intensity of Brittany's thumb rub her clit build up.

"Oh fuck, Brittany." Santana tried to keep her eyes open to watch Brittany's face, but she couldn't. Everything was too intense, she was close. She felt the tightness in her center...almost...almost...

"Briiit!" Santana yelled as she came.

Brittany continued to massage Santana slowly, her hand drenched.

"I love you," Brittany whispered as she kissed Santana.

Santana was slowly coming back to her senses, slowly controlling her breathing, but she still felt dizzy.

Brittany pulled her hand out of Santana's pants and slid it up the mocha skin. Finally, Brittany let go.

"I love you," Santana said between the kiss.

Santana's right hand went straight to Brittany's hip.

"I can," Santana said into Brittany's mouth, "I can touch you now?"

Santana moved her hand lower between Brittany's legs and easily slipped inside Brittany .

"Oh God...Santana." Brittany felt her breath catching and her eyes closing not expecting Santana to enter her to quickly.

"Baby...oh..God you feel so good," Santana said moving her fingers in and out.

"Saa...," Brittany tried to say as she rocked her hips back and forth against Santana's fingers.

Santana used her free hand to unhook Brittany's bra, freeing her breasts. Since she was propping her self up, the bra only slid down to Brittany's forearms, landing on Santana's chest.

"Your turn baby," Santana said lifting her self up and capturing Brittany's right breast in her mouth.

"Oh fuck," Brittany moaned. She wanted to look at Santana but the intense pleasure that was coursing through her body made that difficult. She was sure she had never felt anything like this before.

Santana pulled Brittany closer to her by moving her right hand to Brittany's ass, while her left continued to thrust into Brittany. Santana couldn't get enough of this woman. Mouth on Brittany 's breast, one hand on her ass and another exploring Brittany 's slick, smooth center. Still, that wasn't enough, she wanted more, she would always want more.

"Santana!" Brittany said, her voice urgent. She was close. Santana let go of Brittany's breast and looked up at her. Brittany's mouth was parted, her eyes closed, her face flushed and a look of pure sex on her face. Santana felt like she would come again just at the image.

"S..'Tana!" Brittany screamed as she came. Her arms finally giving out and collapsing on top of Santana momentarily unable to process any complete thoughts.

Santana kept her hand inside Brittany and slowly began to massage her, just as Brittany had done to her.

"I love you," Santana whispered in Brittany's ear, taking her hand out of Brittany and caressing her lower back.

They stayed in that position for a long time. Brittany laying on top of Santana, their hands lazily touching each other. After a while, Santana finally spoke.

"I wonder what time it is," she said in a soft voice.

"Who cares," Brittany said lifting her head and looking at the clock on the nightstand. "We have nowhere to be."

"That's true," Santana said smiling.

"It kinda sucks we have work tomorrow," Brittany said, "We could have had another full day together."

"I know," Santana sighed flipping Brittany over, "Is it too soon to ask you to move in with me? That way we can have more time together."

Brittany smiled at the idea. "We haven't been official 24 hours and you're asking me to move in already?"

"OK, maybe it is too soon." Santana reached down and fully removed Brittany's bra.

"There's one item gone," Santana said. She moved away from Brittany and was sure she let out a gasp at seeing Brittany fully naked again.

"Your turn," Brittany said reaching up and removing Santana's bra.

Santana took the initiative and removed her own pants and underwear, throwing them aside. Now both naked, Santana settled herself on top of Brittany 's warm body.

"Better," Santana said softly, looking deep into Brittany's eyes, "This Sunday calls for some naked cuddling."

"Best Sunday ever," Brittany said hugging Santana closer.

###

Santana felt something graze her calf. She ignored it at first thinking it was probably Brittany's leg. She kept her eyes closed and snuggled closer to Brittany. She wasn't sure how long they had been asleep, and she didn't care.

She felt that graze again and furrowed her brow in confusion. Unless Brittany grew months worth of hair on her leg, this wasn't Brittany's leg.

Santana sat up and looked down the bed. Devil's Spawn.

"Get out of here!" Santana hissed.

Lord Tubbington hissed back.

"'Tana?"

Brittany felt the bed move and Santana pull away from her. They were still above the covers and when Santana got up, she felt cold.

"It's OK, Britt," Santana assured, "It's Devil's Spawn."

Brittany sat up and rested her chin on Santana's shoulder. She looked down the bed and saw Lord Tubbington looking at them. "Maybe if you stopped calling him Devil's Spawn, he'd like you more."

"He doesn't understand."

Lord Tubbington hissed again.

"See," Brittany said, "He totally does."

Santana let out a sigh. "If it ever came down to it, who would you choose? Me or the cat?"

Brittany let out a chuckle and kissed Santana's shoulder. "I won't have to choose. You guys are going to be buddies. It'll just take time."

"The fact that you refuse to answer makes me think you'd choose the cat," Santana said sounding a little hurt.

Brittany laughed again. "You're silly." She got out of bed. "Nap time's over. Let's go get some lunch or dinner."

Santana watched Brittany disappear into the bathroom. She looked back at the cat who was just staring back. "Let's call a truce, OK? I'll stop calling you Devil's Spawn if you just stop hissing at me."

The cat narrowed his eyes and put his head down. Santana took that as a yes.

###

Twenty minutes later, fully dressed, Brittany and Santana made their way to the living room. They had slept through lunch as it was almost six now. It was time for dinner.

"I kinda want a burger," Brittany said, "Like with three patties and lots of cheese!"

"Eww, Britt," Santana said, "I think my arteries clogged up just hearing you…."

Santana stopped talking when they entered the living room and she saw Quinn sitting on the couch. She was reading the script.

Quinn looked up. "Oh hey." She looked at Santana. "So, I'm assuming that's your car in my driveway?"

"Uh, yeah," Santana said. Her eyes moved from Quinn to the script.

"Found this on the table," Quinn said closing the script. "I thought it was just from the pile Britt and I have been reading, but then I saw the writer's name. I guess this is the famous script Brittany has been talking about."

Brittany had wanted to read the script first before letting Quinn see it. Especially since it was about her and Santana. Well, sort of. "How long have you been home?"

"Like 20 minutes," Quinn said, "I just thought you guys were out on a walk or something then I saw this script and figured I'd read it until you got home."

"You read the whole thing?" Santana asked.

"No," Quinn said, "I actually just finished reading the part where the Queen character is introduced"

Santana slightly paniced. It didn't take a genius to figure out who the Queen character was based on. "What'd you think?"

"She's….interesting." Quinn cocked her had slightly as if trying to piece together a puzzle. "This story is…I don't know. There's something familiar about it. You sure you didn't rip it off from somewhere?"

Brittany let out a nervous chuckle. "No it's not stolen. It's…you know what? We were just heading out to dinner. Wanna come?"

Santana almost protested. She wanted to spend time with Brittany alone but she really didn't want to let Quinn continue to read the script. At least not until Brittany read it first. Plus this would give her a chance to show off the she had gotten the girl this time.

"Yeah," Santana said, "Join us. We'd love to have you join us for dinner." Santana reached down and grabbed Brittany's hand, brought it to her lips and kissed it.

The look on Quinn's face almost made Santana gloat. "What's happening here?"

Brittany felt herself smile. "We had a good night." She knew Quinn would be happy for her and Santana and there wouldn't be any tension.

"Brittany and I are dating," Santana said proudly, "Officially."

"You…you two? So, you're a couple now?" Quinn actually looked surprised. Santana smiled.

"We are," Santana said, "I hope you don't mind my being around here all the time."

Quinn dropped the script on the table and got up. "Well, congratulations. I think."

Brittany squeezed Santana's hand. "Is it weird?"

"No," Quinn said quickly, "It's not. It's about time Lopez closed the deal."

"Hey!" Santana protested, "Listen…"

"I'm kidding," Quinn said with a slight laugh. "Come on. I'm hungry. Let's go eat and you two can tell me how this happened. And, you Santana, can tell my why your script reads like something I'm sure I've read before and I know it's not one of your books, because I've never read them."

"Gee thanks a lot Quinn," Santana said.

They gathered their things and headed out the door. As they did Brittany was sure she heard Santana whisper, "I win."

"What?" Quinn asked.

Santana shook her head. "Nothing."

Brittany rolled her eyes and locked the door.

###

Dinner was actually more fun than Santana would have thought. Now that she had Brittany, and this need to compete with Quinn was gone, Santana found that Quinn really was fun to be around. Brittany always told her that was the case, but her hatred of her once rival never let her see that.

Santana also managed to put off explaining the script until both Quinn and Brittany had read the whole thing.

"Brittany will fill you in," Santana had told Quinn, "When you're done, I'll be happy to answer any questions."

After dinner, Quinn drove them back to her house. She bid Santana good night and went inside leaving Santana and Brittany out in the driveway, by Santana's car.

"I guess this is it," Brittany said, hating that her day with Santana as over.

Santana wrapped her arms around Brittany's waist. "I'll see you tomorrow after work, OK? What time do you think you'll be home?"

"I don't know," Brittany said, putting her arms around Santana's neck. "It's my first day so I have no idea how long I'll be there. Quinn and I have a meeting with Roz first thing."

"Well, I'm home by 5 so, whenever you're done, just stop by," Santana said.

"I'll see if Quinn can drop me off…"

"Oh shit," Santana realized, "I keep forgetting you don't have a car. I'll pick you up. Just call me and I'll be there."

Brittany smiled. "You don't have to do that. If Quinn is busy, I'll just get a studio driver to take me."

"Yes, I have to, because that's what girlfriends do," Santana said. She leaned up and gave Brittany a soft kiss. "But I do think you need to buy a car."

"This weekend, I will," Brittany said, "I guess I should go in. I want to finish your script before my meeting with Roz."

Santana let go of Brittany and stepped back. "Right."

"Don't worry," Brittany assured, "Remember what I told you."

"I know."

"I love you," Brittany said.

"I know." Santana let out a sigh. "I love you too."

"Now get out of here before I drag you back to my room," Brittany teased.

Santana stepped closer and brought Brittany in for a kiss. She wasn't sure how she was going to survive the next 24 hours without kissing Brittany.

With one last nibble, Brittany let go. She really did want to drag Santana back to her room and lock her in there, but that was out of the question. "This is going to sound so silly, but I'm seriously going to miss you. And I know it's just a day, but that's still too long."

Santana hugged Brittany tight. "It's so pathetic isn't it? I was just thinking how I'm not going to be able to survive not kissing you for a whole day."

"We are so pathetic," Brittany said into Santana's neck. She inhaled Santana's sweet scene one last time before pulling back. "Get out of here. This is getting more pathetic."

Santana let out a small laugh. "You know, I always made fun of those couples that just clung to each other and acted crazy in love. And now, here I am one of those pathetic people."

"That's what you get for making fun," Brittany joked with a slight laugh.

"As punishments go, this is a good one." Santana gave Brittany one last kiss and then got in her car.

Brittany watched Santana drive away and let out a content sigh. Everything she ever wanted was hers now. A great career and the girl of her dreams. She went back in the house and joined Quinn on the couch.

"Can we read this script now?" Quinn asked.

Brittany nodded. No matter how this story played out, it wasn't going to change her feelings for Santana.

###

Brittany and Quinn entered the main conference room in the office building of New Directions Studios. Brittany had only been at work a little over an hour and she already loved being back. This studio was slightly bigger than what she was used to but at the same time, it was smaller. The studio was failing and if they didn't get it going again, Brittany wasn't sure what would happen.

The conference room was empty. "Is it just us?"

Quinn shrugged her shoulders. "I don't think so. We're early. I'm sure more will come in." They took a seat. "So. What are we going to tell Roz when she asks us if we found a movie to make yet?"

Brittany took a deep breath. She and Quinn had stayed up late reading Santana's script and neither were too pleased with how the characters based on them came off in the story. Santana did warn her that her character, Brian, was a heartless monster and he really was. He pretty much used the main character, Sandra, and played with her emotions to get ahead at work. All part of a big plan by Brian and his girlfriend, Queen.

"I still can't fucking believe she named me Queen," Quinn said, annoyed, "Who the hell is named Queen?"

"Queen Latifah."

"Whatever," Quinn scoffed, "I did not set out to make sure she got her heart broken. I know it's just loosely based on our lives, but it still makes me mad."

"Yeah, me too," Brittany said quietly.

Brittany was mad when she finished the story. But then she wasn't. It was just a weird, confusing feeling. The story was different enough to not be specific about what had actually happened, but similar enough that Brittany could tell it was about her. About them.

"But," Quinn continued, "Forgetting this story is about us, it's actually really good. I mean, if done right, I think we can even get an Oscar nod."

"I think so too," Brittany said.

Quinn was right. This script was good. It was fantastic and the best she had read in a long time. She knew it would because Santana wrote it. Brittany just wished it had been a different story. But, it was just a story and Brittany needed to put that aside. She may be a upset, but it didn't change how she felt about Santana. She was in love with her and always would be. Brittany would just have to deal with this later.

"Hello ladies!"

The conference room swung open and Roz came in like she owned the place. Which, technically she sort of did.

"Hi," Quinn said, "Umm, where's everyone else?"

"Just us chicks for now," Roz said. She turned to Brittany. "Glad you finally showed, Sunshine."

"Me too," Brittany said.

"So listen up Goldie Locks!" Roz went to the head of the table, sat down and placed her feet up. "This studio is shit. It's a failure and I don't do failures. I'm a bronze medal winner damn it! We've got one shot to revive Frankenstien and that's it."

"What happens if we can't?" Quinn asked.

"Then I shut this down, sell it for part," Roz said, "I, and the investors, can still make some money out of this."

"Shut it down?" Brittany couldn't lose this job. "What about us? The crew?"

"That's Hollywood." Roz put her feet down and sat up straight, "Look, this town if full of studios, I'm sure they'll be fine. As for you two…"

"What?"

"I've loved your work since Holly pushed me to hire you two six years ago and I'm not letting you go," Roz explained, "If this studio fails, you'll have a job back in New York."

"New…New York?" Brittany felt a slight panic. "But we just moved back…."

"Then you'll move one more time," Roz said, "I have you under contract, so you go where I need you. If New Directions fails, then it's back to East Coast for you ladies."

Brittany looked over at Quinn who didn't seem much too thrilled with moving back to New York. They loved living there, but L.A. had always been home.

"What do we need to do to save the studio?" Quinn asked.

"Get me a movie!" Roz stood up and began to walk around the room. "A blockbuster that'll bring in money or something that'll win this studio a shit load of awards."

Brittany ran her hands through her hair.

"So?" Roz went on. "Have you found a script?"

Brittany and Quinn looked at each other. Santana's script. It was the best one they had read by far.

"Well?" Roz was getting impatient.

"Yeah," Brittany reluctantly said, "We found a script."

"Great! I want it on my desk by lunch," Roz said, "Alright, meeting over. I'm this close to getting one of the biggest up and coming stars to do a project with us."

"Who?" Quinn asked, "And why don't I know about it?"

"Relax, honey pot," Roz said, "Let me seal this deal, then I'll bring you in. Maybe she can star in this script of yours."

"Angelina Jolie?" Brittany had always wanted to work with her.

"Girl, please," Roz rolled her eyes, "We are still a failing studio. It's Kate Dawson."

Brittany scrunched up her brow trying to find out why that name sounded so familiar. It wasn't from the Hollywood scene she was sure, but from somewhere else.

"Kate Dawson?" Quinn asked, "How do I know her?"

"Yeah, me too," Brittany said, "Did we work with her before?"

"I don't thi..." Quinn's eyes went wide. "Wasn't she Santana's girlfriend in college?"

Brittany's own eyes went wide in realization. "Oh shit."

"Are you two done bugging those eyes out?" Roz asked, "Anyway, she's hot on the scene or hot enough. I want to get her before she gets too big."

"Uh...wait," Brittany said, "I'm sure she's great but Quinn was thinking we could get Rachel Berry."

"Rachel Berry?" Roz looked like she had just eaten a lemon. "That girl who did all those face cream commercials?"

"Uh, yeah," Quinn said, "But she'd done other great things."

"You got an agreement with her yet?" Roz asked.

"Umm, not exactly..."

"Then Kate Dawson it is." Roz went to the door. "But if you can get Rachel to agree, maybe we can get both."

And with that Roz left.

"This is crazy," Brittany said, "Kate Dawson? The snob who I made an acting reel for ages ago? The snob Santana dated? It really is like we're back at college."

"I don't remember much about Kate," Quinn said, "But I do remember I didn't like her. "

"We need to get Rachel on board."

"And Santana," Quinn said, "She hasn't officially sold us the script yet."

"Right," Brittany said softly.

###

Santana pulled into the studio driveway and stopped at the security gate watched by a lone security guard.

"Employee or visitor?"

"Visitor. I'm here for Brittany S. Pierce."

"Name."

"Santana Lopez." She was staring to wonder if this man was able to talk in complete sentences. She watched him as he scanned a piece of paper on his clipboard.

"Not on here. Can't let you in."

"Can you just call her. She'll vouch for me."

The guard let out an annoyed huff and picked up his phone. After a few seconds, he began talking. "Hey Brittany I have Samantha Lomas..."

"Santana Lopez!"

"Sorry, Santana...oh, yeah. OK." The security guard hung up the phone and opened the gate. "Turn left up ahead and park in front of Building 3C."

Glad to be rid of him, Santana drove in and went to her destination. She spotted Building 3C and saw a row of parking spots in front, each with a sign with someone's name. She smiled when she spotted Brittany's name and parked her car in the spot. She was about to get out when she saw Brittany come out of the building and walk to her

"Hey!" Santana said through her window, "Why do you have a parking spot when you don't even have a car."

Brittany smiled the second she saw Santana. They had only been apart for a day and it already felt like a month. "I am going to get a car." Brittany reached the car and leaned down to give Santana a kiss through the car window. "Hi."

"Hi." Santana smiled in return. It really was pathetic how she turned to mush around Brittany. "Need a ride?"

"Sure. I just need to go get my things," Brittany said. She stood up and was about to leave when she realized she couldn't just leave Santana waiting in the car. "Come with me. I'll show you my office."

Santana immediately closed her window, got out and locked her car. "If this tour is anything like the tour you gave me of your room, I'd love to."

Brittany reached for Santana's hand and lead her inside. They went through a serious of hallways until they reached Brittany's office near the far side of the building. Along the way Brittany pointed out which office belonged to wich producer, director or executive. Santana didn't know any of these people, but she gladly listened to Brittany point things out.

"And this..." Brittany said, opening her office door, "..is my office."

Santana scanned the medium sized room. Just like Brittany's bedroom, it was pretty bare. There wasn't much in place yet except for a desk, some chairs, a couch and some filing cabinets. "Nice. I'm sure it'll look even better once you decorate."

"I'm thinking unicorn theme," Brittany said looking around the room, "That or dolphins."

Santana let out a laugh. "I'm sure either one will be great."

Brittany, still holding Santana's had, pulled her towards the couch near the back of the office. "I need to talk to you."

Santana swallowed. She was expecting this. All day she had tried to put Brittany reading the script in the back of her mind and all day she had failed. "OK."

They sat on the couch, facing each other. Brittany spoke first.

"I read it. So did Quinn."

"And?"

"Well," Brittany began, "Quinn's mad you named her Queen and that you made her into such a bitch."

"OK, yeah," Santana said, "Maybe I could have come up with a better name but the way I remembered Quinn back then was her getting everything she wanted. Like a Queen."

"And..."

"What about you?" Santana said gently, "Are you mad?"

"I am.. or was. Well, sort of." Brittany played with Santana's fingers. "It's weird. Like, I know it's not us, but it is us. I never meant to hurt you on purpose. I had no idea you had real feelings for me. Had I known..."

"I know," Santana interrupted, "But that's the past and like you said, it's just a story. Everything worked out. We're together now."

"My character is just so...mean," Brittany said, "But it's just for the story. And it's a good story. A story that will make a great movie."

Santana tried to give Brittany as smile. Maybe turning this into a movie wasn't the best idea and especially making Brittany direct this twisted version of their love story. Or non-love story in the case of this script. "I don't know. Maybe that Artie guy was right and this script is too depressing for a movie. Can we just forget about it and just focus on us?"

Brittany actually thought that was a great idea. Had this story not been based on their lives, she would have been more excited to make this movie. But there was something off-putting about making a movie that was based on events in your life. Even if they were exaggerated.

"I can't forget about it," Brittany said. She let go of Santana's hand. "Quinn and I had our meeting this Roz."

"How did that go?" Santana didn't like the tone in Brittany's voice.

"She told us the studio is failing," Brittany said, "And we need to save it."

"And you will!"

"But if we don't," Brittany went on, "She'll sell the studio for parts and everyone will be out of a job."

Santana reached back and took back Brittany's hand. "Hey, don't put the pressure of all those people's jobs on your shoulders OK? That's too much responsibility. This is Hollywood, Britt. There are like a thousand studios around here, I'm sure everyone will be fine."

"Then there's me and Quinn," Brittany said softly.

"What about you and Quinn?" Yeah, Santana really didn't like Brittany's tone.

"We're under contract with Roz," Brittany explained, "If we can't save this studio and Roz sells it, Quinn and I have to keep working for Roz...back in New York."

Santana was sure her heart started beating way to fast in a panic. "New York?"

"If Quinn and I don't make a movie that makes the studio money, we'll have to go back to New York." Brittany hated seeing the panic in Santana's eyes because that's exactly how she felt. They had just gotten together and Brittany didn't want her job to, yet again, separate them by 3,000 miles.

"No," Santana said, firmly, "You just moved back. She can't make you go back to New York. You can quit. There are other studios, L.A. studios, that are better and would love to have you. No. You can't leave again."

Brittany scooted closer and gave Santana a small kiss. "Believe me, the last thing I want is to move back and leave you, leave may parents and sister. Leave home again. But..."

"But what?"

"I have two more years on my contract and I can't break it," Brittany said, "Unless you have a couple of million dollars laying around because that's how much it would cost to buy me out."

"I do!" Santana almost shouted. "My books are best sellers, Britt. I have money, maybe not totally liquid, but I can get it..."

"Whoa, whoa!" Brittany stopped Santana before she handed over her checkbook. "Sweetie, stop. I'm not going to have you cash out your life savings, OK? Quinn doesn't want to move back either, so believe me we are going to try to save this studio."

"You can't leave." Santana tried to top the sinking feeling she felt at the mere idea of Brittany moving away again.

"I'm going to do everything I can to stay," Brittany said, "But I need your help."

"Anything, just name it."

"I need you to sell your script to the studio and let me make this movie," Brittany said, "Quinn thinks that if we do this right, we can even get some Oscar nominations."

"Seriously?" Santana knew she was a great writer but never in a millions years did she think her work would be possible Academy Award material.

Brittany nodded. "You're a gifted writer. You're script could save this studio and everyone's jobs."

Santana let out a breath. "Wow, I guess the pressure's on me then."

"No pressure," Brittany said, "Just sell us the script and Quinn and I will do the rest."

"If making this movie is the only way to keep you here with me, then yes. I'll sell it. I'll do whatever it takes to keep you here."

Brittany hugged Santana buried her face in her neck. "Thank you. I'll make a good movie. I promise."

"I don't doubt that Britt," Santana said pulling back, "You just have to promise me to take me as you date if you get nominated for Best Director."

"Deal." Brittany moved her head slightly to the side and brought their lips together. She wondered if she should tell Santana about Kate but decided it didn't matter. Kate was just in talks with nothing official. There was no news. All thoughts of the actress were suddenly forgotten when Brittany felt Santana's tongue touch her own. She couldn't go back to New York. Santana was in L.A. Her home was in L.A.

Santana deepened the kiss. No, she couldn't lose Brittany again. She was serious about paying out her contract and she made a mental note to check her finances just to make sure she had the money ready just in case. Santana pulled back enough to talk. "Let's get out of here and back to my place. I went to the market and I'm cooking you dinner."

"First breakfast and now dinner?" Brittany smiled. "If you cook me lunch then you can be sure I'll never leave."

"I'll pack your lunch for tomorrow," Santana teased.

Brittany got up and pulled Santana up too. "Let's go. I'm starving."

Brittany grabbed her things and locked up her office. No matter what, she had to save this studio. She had to make this movie a success. She had to stay with Santana.

- **tbc**-

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Life keeps you busy sometimes. Thank you all again for reading and sticking with this story. :) You can always hit me upon tumblr if you'd like ( parispal23 ).**


	22. Plan B

Santana looked up and scanned the her classroom to make sure no one was looking anywhere but their test. She knew no one had the guts to cheat in her class, she had spent all semester making sure of that. However, she still made sure her Freshman class knew they were being watched.

When she was sure everyone had their eyes on their own paper, she went back to her computer screen. She had spent most of the hour reading up on New Directions Studios trying to find out just how bad of a situation it was in. Much to her dismay she found out the studio was in worse shape than she expected. The studio had suffered through a series of failed movies and had lost its once prestigious reputation. Many Hollywood reporters had written it off.

Santana sighed.

She had been serious when she told Brittany she would pay off her contract to keep her in L.A. There was no way she was going to be separated from Brittany for two years, not when they had finally gotten the chance to really be together.

She shook her head. This was all premature. Brittany and Quinn would help save this studio and Brittany would stay in L.A. It had been four days since Brittany and Quinn had read the script and they were more sure than ever it would make a great movie. Santana had gotten a call from her literary manager and was told that everything was now official. Santana could now add script writer to her resume.

One good thing about selling the script was that she had gotten a good chunk of change for the damn thing which she was planning on saving just in case she really did need to buy out Brittany's contract.

It never hurt to have a Plan B.

Her thoughts were interrupted by one of her students who came by to drop of his test.

"Here you go Ms. Lopez," he whispered.

"Done so fast?" Santana asked, surprised this particular student had been the first one to finish. That was not a good sign.

He just shrugged, left his test and walked out the door.

Before Santana could turn her attention back to her computer, her phone buzzed. It was a text from Brittany.

_First. I miss you. - BP_

Santana smiled. She got another text.

_Second. Everyone loves your script and is excited about making it into a movie. - BP_

Santana's smile faded. She got another text.

_Third. Something else happened that I'm not sure if you'll like. Or maybe you won't care. - BP_

Santana raised an eyebrow. She texted Brittany back.

_First. I miss you too. Second. Congrats on getting movie to make, even if it is mine. Third. What news? - SL_

_I'd rather tell you in person. - BP_

Santana was getting a little worried.

_It's not about us is it? - SL_

_Oh no! No! It's all work. You and I are on top of the universe. - BP_

Santana let out a relieved sigh. Despite knowing she and Brittany were now officially together and happy, there was still that tiny part of her that couldn't believe it was happening.

_You can tell me when I pick you up. - SL_

Santana was interrupted by another student coming up to leave her test.

"How come you can text and we can't?" the girl asked.

"Because I'm the boss." Santana took the girl's test and dismissed her student.

Santana put her phone away and tried not to think about this news Brittany had. She had a feeling this script was going to be a pain in the ass to deal with and was sure she'd regret writing the damn thing.

###

Brittany walked in to her office and went to sit at her chair. She had had a full day full of meetings. Now that Santana had officially sold them the script, they could begin pre-production of this movie and that included casting.

That's actually what this last meeting had been all about. Roz had managed to ink a deal with Kate Dawson and her team and Roz had already sent a copy of Santana's script to Kate. Brittany also hadn't told Santana about Kate yet. She didn't want to remind her girlfriend of the actress if she didn't have to but she figured there was no ignoring Kate now.

Quinn was pissed. Brittany was too. The last thing she wanted was to work with Santana's ex and besides, Brittany had really started to like the idea of bringing Rachel on board.

Quinn had managed to make an appointment with Rachel to discuss the script and try to convince her to work with New Directions.

Brittany looked at the clock and was happy to see it was almost time to go home. Santana would be here soon and just the thought of seeing her made Brittany smile.

Santana had picked her up every day this week followed by dinner at Santana's house or a restaurant They had agreed to spend the week just getting to know each other again and put sexy times on hold until the weekend.

She couldn't stay over anyway because of work. Santana had early classes and Brittany needed a ride to the studio at odd hours so she just slept at home so Quinn could take her to work. She really needed to buy a car.

Brittany opened her laptop and did a final check of her email. There was a new one from Roz.

_Meeting: Kate Dawson_

Great, she thought. Roz was really excited about getting Kate and, yes, Kate was slightly more famous than Rachel and had slightly more buzz around her, but that didn't mean Kate was a good actress.

"Rachel's way better," She muttered.

"Better at what?"

Brittany jumped a little, startled at her sudden visitor. "Santana!"

"Hi," Santana chuckled, "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"There you go still appearing out of nowhere." Brittany got up and went to give Santana a hug. "Hi."

Santana returned Brittany's hug and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Hi." She kept her arms around Brittany's waist. "What's this about Berry?"

"That's she's a better actress."

"Debatable. Better than Meryl Steep? Hell, no. Better than Kristen Stewart? Maybe."

Brittany gave Santana a small smile before lightly kissing the tip of her nose. She let got of Santana and went to her desk to start packing up her things.

"Britt?" Santana saw the mood in Brittany change. Something was up.

"Umm…so this is kinda funny," Brittany began. She closed her laptop and put in in her bag. "Not like 'ha ha' funny but more like 'weird' funny."

"What is?"

Brittany zipped up her bag and looked Santana. "Well, maybe not 'weird' funny but for sure, 'surprise' funny. I mean, the last thing we expected was to hear about her again…"

"Britt. What's so funny?"

"Kate."

"Who the hell is Kate?" Santana was really confused. She was getting pretty good at deciphering Brittany speak but she still had a lot to learn.

"Dawson."

"Who the hell is Dawson?"

"It's the same person," Brittany clarified, "Kate Dawson."

Santana was more than confused, she was surprised. "My ex-girlfriend Kate Dawson?"

Brittany nodded.

Santana opened her mouth to say more, but nothing came out. Kate Dawson. Santana hadn't thought about her in years. She had occasionally heard about Kate in various entertainment news sites or shows, but for the most part, Santana had almost forgotten she had even known the actress. Now, out of nowhere, Brittany was talking about her.

The movie.

"Oh no," Santana shook her head in protest, "Don't you tell me that..."

"Roz got her under contract and wants to put her in our movie." Brittany watched as the vain in Santana's neck began to throb.

"Well, Roz can find some other C-list celebrity to be in this movie," Santana shouted, "It's bad enough it's getting made in the first place but to have more people from college actually making it, is like some fucked up cosmic joke!"

Santana groaned and began pacing. This was getting ridiculous.

"Why are you so mad?" Brittany hadn't expected Santana to be this angry. Maybe a little upset, but Santana looked like she wanted to murder someone.

"I'm not exactly thrilled yet another person in the story is making an appearance." Santana huffed.

Kate was also a character in her story, but in her story Kate was a guy.

"Well, sorry this is turning into such a pain for you," Brittany said calmly. She picked up her bag and began walking to the door.

Santana grabbed Brittany's arm. "Britt, wait." The anger she felt suddenly gone at seeing Brittany's solemn expression. "I'm not mad at you."

"Then why are you yelling?" Brittany bit her lip.

"I just...all I want is to put my past behind me and concentrate on my future. Our future. You and me. I don't want to relive my time with Kate. I don't want to relive losing you. And hearing Kate being involved with this...it's just...is sucks."

"She still has to do a screen test," Brittany said, "She may just get a small role. I'm not sure yet. Look, I don't want to work with her either. Making that acting video for her back in college was not fun. She's probably even more super snobby and bitchy now. And, I hate that I was so jealous of her back in college."

"You were? Why?"

"Because she was with you," Brittany said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "When you guys became the 'It' couple on campus, it was hard not to hear about your couple adventures." Brittany crossed her arms.

Santana knew she shouldn't smile, but she couldn't help it. "You were jealous she was with me?"

"I spent half my college time jealous of any girl who got to date you." Brittany shrugged her shoulders.

Santana wrapped her arms around Brittany's neck and gave her a kiss. "I can't even picture any of those other girls now, all I see is you. You don't have to be jealous of anyone."

Brittany relaxed and uncrossed her arms to wrap them around Santana's waist. She playfully rolled her eyes and smiled. "I did get the girl."

"You did," Santana said with a laugh. "You and me, OK?"

"OK." Brittany leaned in and captured Santana's lower lip in between hers. Santana's lips were made to be nibbled and kissed. "You and me."

"Come on," Santana said pulling back, "Let's go to dinner and you can tell me more about Kate being in this movie."

"So you're not mad at me?"

"No, honey," Santana assured, "I know this isn't your fault and I said I'd do anything to help you with this movie. If that means seeing Kate again, I'll do it. I tend to always go to the yelling place."

"You need to stop going there so much." Brittany reached down and grabbed Santana's hand and led her out of her office. "You should go to Happyville. It's way better."

Santana let out a chuckle. "If it's the place you always go to, I'm sure it's awesome."

They reached Santana's car and got in. As Santana was pulling out of Brittany's parking space she remembered something. "Wait, when you said Rachel was a better actress...did, are you casting Rachel in my movie?"

"Our movie," Brittany corrected, "And yes. Quinn and I are thinking she could play you."

"Son of a bitch," Santana sighed, "And I thought Kate being in the movie was the worst news I could have heard."

###

"What do you want for dessert?" Santana asked.

Without skipping a beat, Brittany simply answered, "You."

Santana put the dessert menu down and chuckled. "Stop. We made a deal."

"I know," Brittany pouted, "But I can finally have sex with you and I've already wasted all these days."

Santana actually felt the same way. It had only been about four days since they were together but it felt like an eternity. "I know, but I don't want to make love to you and then one of us has to leave because of our different work schedules."

"You just want to cuddle all night," Brittany teased.

"Hey," Santana warned, "That stays between us."

"OK, fine. But you're right. It's awesome waking up next to you in the morning." Brittany smiled at the memory of their first time together.

They had spent most of the dinner discussing the movie and the casting. Santana wasn't too thrilled to have either Rachel or Kate play the version of her in the story. But Santana figured Rachel was the lesser of two evils.

For dessert, they opted to share a slice of chocolate cake.

"So." Brittany licked frosting off her fork. "I was thinking we could have like a party and invite everyone and tell them we're official."

"I'm pretty sure everyone knows by now, Britt," Santana said with a smile, "We do have three of the biggest gossips for friends. Kurt, Sugar and Mercedes."

"I know, but I sort of want to show you off as my girlfriend."

And once again, Santana felt herself blushing like some teenager. "So you just want to make out with me in front of everyone?"

"Well, not a total make out session," Brittany said seriously "But some kissing. No tongue though cause that's private."

Santana covered her mouth to keep from fully laughing out loud. She looked over at Brittany who was grinning like the Cheshire Cat. "I fucking love you so much." Santana managed to say between bouts of laughter.

By the time Santana drove Brittany home, her cheeks hurt from laughing and smiling so much. Being with Brittany was amazing and made Santana believe Happyville was actually real.

Once Santana had the car parked in the driveway, Brittany unbuckled her seat belt and leaned across the counsel to give Santana a kiss. "I fucking love you too."

Santana returned the kiss with just as much enthusiasm. "You know, I have a late class on Fridays so I can stay over."

"Ugh. I have to go in early," Brittany groaned, "And Quinn and I have to prep for Kate's meeting."

"Oh, right." Santana was disappointed. "OK, but tomorrow, when I pick you up, make sure you have an overnight bag because I'm not taking you home. You're my hostage for the weekend."

"Yes, ma'am," Brittany smirked. She gave Santana one last kiss before pulling back.

"Tell me how it goes," Santana said.

"I will."

When Brittany opened the door to get out, Santana spoke. "Britt, umm, I'm doing a reading next week at school..."

"You still do those?" Brittany thought back to one and only time she had heard one of Santana's readings.

"Yeah," Santana said suddenly feeling shy, "Anyway, it's next week and I was wondering if you maybe want to go."

"Of course! I'll be there for sure."

Seeing how genuinely excited Brittany was at attending made Santana's heart soar. "Thank you."

"I love hearing you talk and I love your work," Brittany said, "It's a win-win."

"You won't fall asleep?" Santana teased.

"Are other people going to be speaking?"

"A few others, yeah."

Brittany thought for a moment. "Well, I can't promise to stay awake for their reading, but I'll for sure be awake for yours."

Santana was sure she would develop premature wrinkles from all the smiling and laughing she did around Brittany. It was totally worth it. "You better. Now, get out of here before I pounce on you."

Brittany gave Santana a wink and got out of the car.

###

Brittany entered the The Red Barron and looked around for Quinn. Their meeting with Kate had been pushed back to the late afternoon, which turned out to be perfect timing. The change in the schedule had given Brittany and Quinn a chance to meet with Rachel first and try to convince her to be in their movie.

She spotted Quinn at one of the booths to near the back and walked to her. She was alone.

"Is Rachel peeing or something?" Brittany sat down across from Quinn.

"She just texted me. She's stuck in traffic and will be here in 10 minutes." Quinn had two drinks in front of her and she pushed one towards Brittany. "I ordered you an ice tea."

"Awesome." Brittany took a sip. "OK, so I told Santana about Kate and she was not happy."

"I figured," Quinn sighed, "The only one happy about this is Roz."

"Why does she want Kate in this movie? She sucks." Brittany took another sip of her drink.

"Kate gets papped. She gets tabloids and the trades to talk about her," Quinn explained, "That's what Roz wants."

"But Rachel is a way better actress," Brittany said.

"I totally agree. But Rachel doesn't the publicity Kate does." Quinn looked worried. "I know we need to make a movie that makes money, but with this script, I think we can really get some sort of Oscar buzz. I'd rather have that than some vapid money making movie."

"Me too," Brittan said softly.

Rachel did indeed show up in ten minutes full of apologies. "I am so sorry." She took a set next to Brittany and composed herself. "Tardiness is not professional, and I do apologize, but this is L.A. Traffic is unpredictable."

"It's fine Rachel," Quinn smiled, "I'm just glad you could meet with us."

"Well, I just had to," Rachel said, "I mean, after reading that script you sent me, I knew I had to talk to you two about it."

"So you liked it?" Brittany asked.

"It's amazing," Rachel looked very excited, "It's very dark and kinda of depressing, but in a good way. I'd love to play the main character. She's so complex."

Brittany and Quinn smiled.

"Did you happen to see the writer's name on the script?" Brittany asked.

"Oh no." Rachel shook her head. "I don't read the name of the writer. I find that not knowing allows me to have a completely unbiased opinion of the script. Who wrote it?"

"Santana," Brittany said proudly.

"Lopez?" Rachel looked stunned.

"The one and only," Brittany said proudly.

"Santana Lopez?" Rachel asked again, "Huh. Well, considering how moody Santana is her writing this depressing movie makes sense."

Quinn seemed very excited to get Rachel on board. "Is that the script that gets you to sign with us?"

Rachel folded her hand on the table. "Honestly, I would have gone with you guys even if you had presented me with a semi-good script. I mean, I know we've been on and off friends since college, but I do consider you friends. I want to help you restore New Directions any way I can."

Quinn smiled. "Thank you Rachel."

"Besides," Rachel went on, "I would be known as the star that saved a whole studio."

"And there's the Rachel I remember," Quinn said with a laugh.

"We're going to try to get you that lead," Brittany added, "Roz got Kate Dawson to..."

"Wait!" Rachel put up her hand. "Kate Dawson? Tabloid Bitch Queen?"

"Tell us how you really feel about her," Quinn teased.

"Am I...will I have to audition against Kate?" Rachel almost looked offended. "I was under the impression this role was mine."

"It is!" Brittany said quickly, "Just...we need you to do a screen test for our boss, Roz Washington. But it's totally cool, cause once she sees how awesome you are she'll forget all about Kate. Promise."

Rachel looked like she was seriously thinking this over. Brittany almost expected her to get up and walk away. But she didn't.

"If this were anyone else, I'd say no," Rachel finally said, "But, like I said, you're my friends. I'll do your screen test. I'm a much better actress than that tabloid bait."

"Awesome!" Brittany felt like they were on the right track.

###

Santana was on her way to Shue's office. He was finally back from the North Pole, or wherever the fuck he and his wife said they were going. Santana wasn't paying attention. She was still all about forming a Plan B.

Sure, she'd gladly give up her life savings to keep Brittany in L.A. but at the same time, that money could be used to build a future with Brittany. Get a bigger house and maybe even have some kids.

"Whoa." Santana stopped in the middle of the hallway and just thought about what she had just, well thought about.

Kids.

Kids? Children. Little versions of oneself. Santana sort of liked kids but she never really pictured herself as a mom. But the idea of having kids with Brittany actually made her smile. Yeah, Brittany was her future. There was no doubt about that.

"Come in!"

Santana wasn't sure when she had started walking again, but she had and had somehow knocked on Shue's door. She came in and went to sit on the chair in front of Shue's desk.

"Ah, Santana," Will said, looking happy to see her, "I'm so glad to see you. Listen, thank you so much for filling in at the pet fair. As a thank you, I brought you a replica of Ayers Rock."

Australia. That's where he went, she thought. "Umm, thanks." She took the replica and placed it on her lap.

"So, you said you wanted to talk about some of your options."

"Right." Santana took a breath. "So, OK. You know I love this school and love teaching here..."

"You're not quitting are you?" Will asked, looking alarmed.

"No! God no," Santana said, "I'm just...I know we have a transfer program with some of our sister schools on the East Coast and I was wondering...if I was interested in that program, you know, to teach at one of those schools...who would I talk to?"

"You want to teach on the East Coast?"

"Maybe," Santana said, "I know Holly Holiday has some sort of arrangement where she gets to teach in New York every summer and I was just wondering if, maybe, that was an option for me."

"You want to teach summer school in New York?"

"Not just summer school." Santana sighed. "I'm just going to be honest with you, Will. My girlfriend might have to move back to New York for two years and I don't want to do the whole long distance relationship. I just can't. So, I want to know if I can maybe teach in New York for two years then come back here and finish out my career."

Will leaned back in his chair and let out a breath. "Look Santana, I'll be honest with you. I know your ultimate goal is to be dean of this school, and I think you can. But..."

"But what?"

"But...leaving this school for two years or longer may end up hurting you," Will said, "You're making great progress here now. The English department loves you and you're a big part in keeping this school as one of the best in the state. You can be dean within the next five years. Figgins is itching to retire early. If you stay. If you leave, well, there are a few here who would shoot to the top of the list for dean."

Santana clutched her replica. Her dream had always been to be dean of this school while being a successful author. That's all she cared about before Brittany.

Now, she needed to rethink her priorities.

###

Brittany and Quinn had just finished setting up all the necessary arrangements to officially get Rachel signed. There were still some contract details to sort but for the most part, they had gotten what they wanted.

There was only one hurdle now. Kate.

"Do you think she'll recognize us?" Brittany asked. She and Quinn entered the main conference room and as usual, they were the first to arrive.

"Probably not me," Quinn said, "We barely interacted. You on the other hand...it's hard to forget Brittany S. Pierce."

"That's true," Brittany simply said.

Not five minutes later Roz entered the room followed by two agents and right behind them was Kate Dawson. Brittany looked her up and down and hated that Kate was just as gorgeous as ever. It was like she hadn't aged at all but at the same time gotten more sophisticated. Kate had that "It" factor everyone in Hollywood wanted.

"And here they are," Roz said, "My two superstars. This is Bri..."

"Brittany S. Pierce!" Kate walked over to Brittany and hugged her. "Look at you. How are you?"

Brittany was stunned. She didn't really expect Kate to remember her let alone be this nice. "Uh, hi."

"It's so good to see you." Kate's smile grew bigger when she looked to the side and saw Quinn. "Quinn Fabray. You sure came a long way from being Holly Holiday's assistant."

Brittany looked over at Quinn and almost laughed at the confused expression on her face when Kate hugged her too.

"Hey," was all Quinn said.

"I'm so excited to be working with you." Kate took a seat and everyone else followed suit.

Brittany was still trying to wrap her head around what has happening. Kate was being so nice and friendly. Maybe she changed, Brittany thought, it has been six year and we're all grown ups now.

"So are we," Roz said, "We're very excited to be making this movie especially since it's from a first time screenwriter so that's always a good attention getter."

"You know who wrote it right?" Brittany studied Kate's face for a hint of, well, anything.

"The name says Santana Lopez," Kate said with small smile, "And I wondered if it was my ex-girlfriend Santana but had a hard time believing she actually wrote it. She was more into books and literature and hated anything to do with movies and acting."

"That's not true," Brittany said under her breath.

"Then," Kate went on, "I heard you two were making this and that convinced me this really was written by the Santana Lopez I knew."

"It is," Quinn confirmed.

Brittany didn't like the smile that appeared on Kate's face. "How funny that we all got reunited like this."

"Hilarious," Brittany sighed.

"Will Santana be involved in making this movie?" Kate asked, "Like be on set with re-writes and all that?"

Brittany narrowed her eyes. "Why?"

"Well, I'd love to see her and catch up," Kate said sweetly, "It's been ages."

"That can be arranged," Roz chimed in, "How about we all have dinner tomorrow night? My place."

"Tomorrow?" Quinn leaned forward, "It's just short notice, I'm sure Kate has other engagements."

"Nonsense," Kate said, "Count me in. I'd love to attend a mini college reunion."

"Great!" Roz picked up her phone, "I'll get everything ready."

Shit, Brittany thought, I wonder how mad Santana will be this time.

###

Santana checked on the chicken she had baking in the oven to make sure it wasn't burned to a crisp. Almost done. She went back to the counter to finish up making the accompanying salad.

Brittany had called her and told her not to pick her up today because she had to work late. Santana found herself actually disappointed but also glad she wouldn't have to deal with the traffic. Brittany said she'd just have Quinn drop her off when she was done.

She was so glad for the weekend and to be able to spend more time with Brittany. They had so much to talk about. Before she could get too lost in her thoughts, there was a knock at the door.

Santana quickly went to answer the door and was greeted with the best sight in the world.

"Hi, honey. I'm home," Brittany said with a giggle. She took in Santana's appearance and didn't think she could look more adorable. Her hair us in a messy pony tail, she had jeans and a red shirt, and she was wearing a cooking apron. "You look like a hot Martha Stewart in that apron."

Santana pulled Brittany in and shut the door. "I'm being a good girlfriend and cooking you dinner." Santana put her arms around Brittany's neck and placed a kiss on her lips. "How was work, honey?"

Brittany laughed and hugged Santana. She was loving this. It was like they were playing house. "Good and bad, but mostly good. How about for you?"

"Same. But mostly good." Santana kissed Brittany again. Never in a million years could she picture herself being so domestic. Honestly, she never thought she had it in her but with Brittany it seemed to come naturally.

Brittany dropped her bag to the floor and hugged Santana tighter. She already felt her heart trying to pump out of her chest and her skin already felt hot. Only Santana could make her feel like this. She deepened the kiss and moaned.

Santana already felt the ache between her legs start and she had to put a stop to this before it got out of hand. "Mmm, sweetie...stop." Santana gently pulled back. "Dinner is almost ready."

"I'd rather have you for dinner," Brittany husked.

"Fuck," Santana breathed, "Don't say things like that."

"It's true." Brittany moved to run her tongue up Santana's neck.

Santana was sure she was melting or at least floating away because she could't fell her legs anymore. With all her might, she pushed Brittany away. "Later. I promise. We'll be each other's dessert."

Brittany bit her lip.

"But for now," Santana went on, "I worked hard to make us a nice dinner so let's go eat before it gets burned."

"OK." Brittany smiled. "Sorry. I guess I'm just starving for you sweet lady kisses since it's been like forever since we were together."

"I know," Santana said taking Brittany's hand, "Come on. Let's eat and you can tell me about seeing Kate today."

Brittany groaned and followed Santana to the dinning room.

###

Brittany picked up a drumstick and took a big bite. This had to be the best chicken she had ever tasted. "Bo mood"

"What?" Santana chuckled

Brittany swallowed. "So good. Seriously, Santana, you are like a Top Chef genius. This chicken is amazing and these rosted potatoes are like heaven."

Santana sat up a little straighter, feeling extremely proud of herself. She knew she was a good cook, but knowing Brittany loved her cooking made her feel strangely happy. "Thanks Britt."

"If you keep cooking for me like this, I'm going to have to marry you." Brittany stabbed a rosted potatoes with her fork and brought it to her mouth. She could eat these all day.

Santana's breath hitched and she felt her whole body heat up. She let out a nervous chuckle. "I'm..I'm gald you like it."

"Love it!" Brittany ate another piece of potato. She could get used to this. Coming home from work to Santana and a nice dinner. Though, Brittany didn't want Santana to think she had to do all the cooking. Brittany made a mental note to cook for Santana one day and make her the world Famous Brittany turkey burger.

"So," Santana said, "Now that you're all nice and fed, are you going to tell me what happened with Kate?"

Brittany picked up her ice tea and took a sip, washing down the last bit of rosted potato. "OK. Don't get mad."

Santana tensed. "Did Kate say something to upset you?"

"No, no." Brittany shook her head. "Not really. I mean, she was super nice. She remembered me and Quinn and even gave us hugs."

Santana didn't hide her surprise. "Kate? Dawson? Nice?"

Brittany nodded. "She was very excited to do this movie."

"Does she know I wrote it?"

"Yeah, umm, she figured it was you." Brittany bit her lip.

"OK. So, why would I be mad?"

"So, the thing is, that Roz is having a dinner tomorrow night for us, the ones making this movie," Brittany explained, "And they want you there since you're the writer."

"A party?" Santana put her fork down and leaned back. "A Hollywood party?"

"Kate asked about you," Brittany said not hiding her dislike, "Wanted to know if you'd be on set."

"I wasn't planning on being there," Santana said, "Well, except for when I visit you, but me work on a movie? No. I don't have time for that. I have school to keep me busy."

"That's what I told Roz after our meeting, but she insists you be on set a couple of days a week," Brittany said.

"Why?" Santana had to concentrate on school not some movie if she wanted to keep on track with being dean.

"Because Kate wants you to be," Brittany said softly, "And right now, Kate is the biggest star on this project."

Santana let out a sigh and rolled her eyes. "Well, fuck Kate. I'm not working on some set just because Kate wants me there. And why the hell would she? We haven't spoken since college."

Brittany shrugged. "Maybe she just wants to catch up? Come to this party with me and you can tell Kate and Roz that you have a job and can't be on set."

Santana leaned forward. "I'll go to this party. For you. And if _you_ need me to be on set, I will be. But I won't be there for Kate or Roz."

Brittany smiled and reached across the table to take Santana's hand. "I might need you on set for some sexy time."

Santana relaxed and laughed. "Any time." She lifted Brittany's hand and kissed it. "Look Brittany, I meant what I said, I'll do anything to help you make this movie and keep you here with me."

"I love you." Brittany felt like she wanted to cry.

"And if, this movie doesn't work out for whatever reason," Santana said, "I'll move to New York with you and we..."

"Whoa wait," Brittany interrupted, "You would quit your job at ULA?"

"I..I looked into that exchange program for teachers," Santana said, "You know, the one Holly is part of and it sounds great. I would just have to rearrange some things but..."

Brittany squeezed Santana's hand. "But, you're like head of the Literature department...can you get the same position at another school?"

Santana shrugged. "I don't know. Probably not but I can still teach."

Brittany pulled her hand away and shook her head. "No. I can't let you do that. You've got a good career at that school and I won't let you ruin it cause of me. No."

"Britt," Santana protested, "I love you, OK? I don't want us to be apart for two years. And besides, this is just a Plan B that we may never use because you are going to make this movie into a big hit and save this studio."

"You're not quitting your job," Brittany said firmly, "You're not."

Santana gave Brittany her sweetest smile. "OK. Well, then tell me about this party we have to go to then."

"Tomorrow. I don't want to talk about work anymore."

"What do you want to talk about then?"

Brittany thought about it for a second. "Tell me...tell me you're most embarrassing moment from childhood."

Santana grinned. "We could be here all night."

"Fine by me. I've got nowhere else to be."

Santana chuckled and began to tell Brittany about the time she fell off the monkey bars in front of her whole class and ripped her pants.

###

Brittany brushed aside some of Santana's hair and kissed her neck. She was the big spoon.

After dinner they had cleaned up and had a glass of wine out in the back yard and just talked about anything and everything. By nine, Brittany was pulling Santana into the bedroom. "Dessert time."

Santana sighed and leaned back into Brittany. "Remember. Me loving to cuddle stays between us."

Brittany giggled into Santana's ear. "It'll be our little secret." She kissed Santana's neck again. "You're all sweaty."

"You gave me quite a workout." Santana turned to face Brittany. "You're all sweaty too."

Brittany leaned forward and licked Santana's shoulder. "Mmmm. Sexy sweat."

Santana placed her hand behind Brittany's neck and brought her up for a kiss. There was no way she could be a part from Brittany for two years, she was sure it couldn't be done. She hugged Brittany closer and felt an overwhelming need to continue kissing her and never stop.

Brittany felt Santana's kiss become more frantic. Not sexy frantic, but more desperate frantic. She managed to pull back and cup Santana's face. "Are you OK?"

"I'm just..." Santana took in a breath. "I just started thinking about you moving away and not being able to be with you everyday...and..."

"Hey, listen. It's going to be OK." Brittany placed a kiss on Santana's forehead. "I promise. We'll figure this out. No way I can be 3,000 miles away from you. And your cooking."

Santana couldn't help but laugh. "I'm being a drama queen, aren't I?"

"No," Brittany said softly, "I don't like the idea of not seeing you every day. So...that's why I'm going to make a kick ass movie and keep my job here."

"Yes you will." Santana moved to lay on top of Brittany. She settled herself between Brittany's legs and relished in the amazing feeling of their naked bodies together. "We'll go to that party and kiss some Hollywood ass."

"Only I have to kiss ass." Brittany tucked a strand of hair behind Santana's ear. "You just have to be my trophy girlfriend."

"I can do that," Santana said with a smile.

Brittany ran her thumb along Santana's lower lip. "I think I'm in the mood for more dessert."

"I can do that," Santana repeated before leaning forward and devouring Brittany's lips.

-**tbc**-

* * *

**A/N: SO sorry this took so long but the holiday really set me back. Thanks again to those following this story and for taking the time to review. It's nearing the homestretch (shooting for 25) so get ready. ;)**


	23. Hollywood

Brittany had opted to wear a light blue dress with black pumps for this Hollywood party. She had Santana drop her off at home to get ready while Santana got ready at her place. The plan was for Santana to come back so that they could, along with Quinn, go to this party together.

She took another look in the mirror and decided her outfit needed a necklace. She went over to one of the unpacked boxes in a corner and dug through it until she found her jewelry box.

"I gotta unpack," she muttered to herself. She had been back in L.A. long enough that she should have been completely settled in to her new home. She was almost halfway done but something was slowing her down.

Santana.

Being with Santana was amazing and Brittany knew that one day they'd move in together. Brittany shook her head. It was still way too early.

"You gotta unpack," she told her reflection.

Brittany heard footsteps in the hall and wondered if it was Santana. They had spent most of the morning in bed and just lounging around the house. It was wonderful. Doing nothing with Santana was so much fun. In the afternoon, Santana had taken her car shopping.

"This isn't New York and you have to get back in L.A. mode and get a car," Santana had told her.

After two hours of looking at cars, Brittany couldn't make up her mind. She wanted a car, but then again she didn't. The one thing about L.A. she didn't miss was the traffic.

In the end, Brittany left empty handed and Santana told her they could try again tomorrow.

"You almost ready?" Quinn asked, appearing in the doorway.

Quinn had opted for a simple but elegant black dress. "Yup." She turned from the mirror and went to the bed to get her matching purse. "You look beautiful, Quinn."

"Why thank you," Quinn said with a smile, "As do you. Now come on, let's get downstairs."

"Is Rachel meeting us there?" Brittany followed Quinn to the living room.

"Yeah. I asked her to meet us here so we could all go together but she had a photoshoot or something."

When they arrived in the living room, they saw that Lord Tubbington was fully stretched out on the couch taking up a whole section.

Quinn sighed. "Britt, you know I love Lord T, but is there anyway you can keep him off the furniture?"

"I asked him to stop but he's so stubborn." Brittany lowered her voice. "I think he's still traumatized from being on the street and then trapped in that cage before I got him. Give him time."

Quinn sighed again and just shook her head. Before she could say anything else, Quinn's phone rang and the doorbell chimed.

"I'll get it!" Brittany turned and happily went to answer the door. She already know who it was.

Santana ran her hand through her hair one last time. She knew she looked good but she wanted to make sure Brittany thought so as well. She heard footsteps behind the door and was already smiling because she just knew Brittany would be the one to answer the door.

Brittany couldn't hold her excitement. It was silly because she had just seen Santana less than three hours ago but the sense of excitement was still there. When she opened the door her smile was replaced by a look of utter bewilderment.

"Wow." Brittany breathed. Santana was wearing a short, skin tight red dress and she looked unreal.

Santana took in a breath. Brittany looked beautiful. No, beautiful seemed like it was not enough to describe her because Santana was sure no one has ever looked this amazing. "Hi."

Brittany reached for Santana's hand and pulled her inside. "You look so beautiful." She closed the door and lightly kissed Santana's lips. "I don't want to ruin your lipstick."

Santana wrapped her arms around Brittany's neck and lightly kissed her back. "You're the beautiful one."

"This is the first time I've seen you all dressed up like this." Brittany snaked her arms around Santana's waist. "And it just makes me want to rip off that dress and kiss every inch of you body."

"Damn it, Britt." Santana closed her eyes and let out a breath. When she opened them, she saw Brittany smiling. "I told you to stop talking like that. And where was all this talk when we were in college? Back then, I kept throwing myself at you and got shot down every time."

Brittany pulled back. "Back then, I wanted you too, but I didn't want it to be just sex. Now? Now, I know you're in love with me and you know I'm in love with you. It's not just sex."

Santana felt like her heart was working overtime and felt chills on her arms. "No, it's not."

"So, now," Brittany went on, "I can let my inner sexy-monster loose because I know this means something."

Santana leaned in and whispered into Brittany's ear. "We're leaving this party early. I don't want to keep sexy-monster caged up too long."

Brittany was sure she squealed a little. Before she could get a chance to squeeze Santana's ass, Quinn called them from the living room.

Santana groaned when Brittany pulled away and led her to Quinn. "What's up Fabray? In a hurry to get all Hollywood?"

"Hi Santana," Quinn said witha quick smile, "You look very nice."

"I look hot," Santana corrected, "But since I dont want to be rude, I will say you look very pretty."

"Thanks," Quinn siad with an amused chuckle. "Anyway, just got off the phone with Roz's assistant."

"Is the party canceled?" Santana crossed her fingers.

"Nope." Quinn said, "Roz is sending a limo to pick us up."

"Cool!" Brittany loved limos.

"How Hollywood of her." Santana rolled her eyes. "Where does she live anyway?"

"Hollywood Hills," Brittany answered.

"Figures." Santana started to walk to the couch to take a seat when she noticed Devil's Spa...Lord Tubbington practically taking up one side of the couch.

The cat turned and got up to the sitting position and just stared at Santana.

Brittany watched the exchange with nervous trepidation. "Be nice." She was sure who she was talking to.

Santana carefully sat down on the couch all the while watching Lord Tubington watch her. After what seemed like an eternity, Lord Tubbington simply laid back down and rested his head on his paws.

Santana felt oddly proud that she had gotten the cat to like her. Or tolerate her, at least.

"No hissing!" Brittany was so happy.

"What the hell was that?" Quinn asked, confusion all over her face.

"That, my friend," Santana said, "Is called, skill."

"Oh brother." Quinn rolled her eyes.

Santana looked up at Brittany and smiled. She would make friends with a thousand cats if it meant she could see Brittany smile like that.

###

The red and orange patterns seemed to be crushing the woman in the center. Santana looked at the plaque on the wall, but didn't recognize the artist.

"This painting is weird," Brittany said, cocking her head to the side, trying to see if the image changed at all, "It's...It's just weird."

Santana let out a small laugh. Brittany was right, the painting was weird. Santana thought the artist seemed to be trying to capture a feeling of claustrophobia, but it wasn't quite working. Santana shook her head and took a sip of her drink.

A limo had arrived at Quinn and Brittany's house about 10 minutes after the phone call and had driven them up to the Hollywood Hills to the house Roz was renting. A house that Santana hated. The whole place was decorated in weird and gaudy art pieces that just made the place look tacky.

As if reading her mind, Brittany explained. "Roz has been on an art kick. She wants to be more cultured or something so she like, buys art. Ugly art."

"It is fucking ugly." Santana moved further down the large living room to inspect a rather large sculpture by the window.

Brittany smiled. So far everything was going great. Some other studio people were here as well, including Mike, which shouldn't have surprised Brittany. Apparently Roz had a boy-toy crush on him and ever since Brittany found out, she had constantly teased him about it.

Quinn was on the other end of the room talking to Roz and Rachel about the movie. Brittany had been scared Roz wouldn't like Rachel because, well, she was Rachel, but apparently there was nothing to worry about. Rachel had been in the business a long time and knew how to handle executives and was charming the pants off of Roz.

One thing that was making this party great so far was that Kate had yet to arrive. Brittany secretly hoped she wouldn't make it. The more time Roz spent with Rachel, the better. She also didn't want Kate to see Santana for some reason. Brittany knew there was nothing to worry about, she trusted Santana but she didn't trust Kate. Brittany shook her head. She was being silly. Brittany heard Quinn call her name to join her with Roz and Rachel.

Santana stopped at stared at the sculpture in front of her. It was of a woman reaching to the sky with a look of pain on her face. The hell is this, she thought. This whole house made her feel like she was in some third rate museum of rejected art. She quietly groaned. All she wanted to do was go home, make love to Brittany, cuddle and go to sleep.

She took a deep breath. She was here for Brittany, to make nice with Roz and help keep Brittany in L.A. Santana looked back and saw that Brittany was now in work mode and was glad that she didn't have to talk to Roz anymore. The movie mogul had been nice enough, but a bit abrasive. Roz had gone on and on about how great the script was and how she could make Santana a hot Hollywood writer. Santana had politely declined telling Roz she preferred academia which Roz totally ignored.

Santana went back to looking at the sculpture. It really was ugly.

"I don't get this art."

Santana turned around and smiled when she saw Mike. "Me neither. I'm sure if Roz used her money on the studio and not to buy hideous art, you guys wouldn't be bankrupt."

"That's what I've been telling Britt and Quinn," Mike said, "I'm sure Roz could keep us afloat another two years with the crap she has in here."

"You seem just as excited to be here as I am," Santana teased, "The boss force you to come? Brittany says Roz has the hots for you."

Mike sighed. "Don't remind me. I'm only here to network. If the studio does crash and burn I'm out of a job."

"Don't worry," Santana assured, "Brittany and Quinn got this."

"I hope so." Mike looked worried. "Oh hey, I read your script. It's really good. Depressing, but good."

"Thanks."

Santana was startled when she heard a voice behind her. "It's honestly the best script I've read in ages." Santana turned around to find Kate smiling at her. "Kate!"

"Santana! My God, how long has it been?" Kate suddenly embraced Santana into a tight hug. "It's so good to see you."

"I'm..I…" Santana was not only surprised by Kate's sudden appearance but also by her niceness. When Kate let her go, Santana was able to get a good look at her. She was just as beautiful as she was in college, except with a more mature look. "Hi."

"You look exactly the same!" Kate said stepping back to admire Santana, "Shit, what is your secret? You didn't age and you still have a hot body!"

"Oh believe me, I did age," Santana said, letting out a laugh. Santana had expected to encounter college Kate, but this new Kate seemed really nice, just as Brittany had said.

"She just got hotter," Brittany said, appearing from behind Santana.

Santana turned around and saw Brittany with a smile on her face. Brittany had seen Kate enter the party and head straight for Santana.

"Hey," Santana said, still smiling, reaching for Brittany's hand, "There you are!"

"Sorry. Rachel won't stop talking," Brittany said, then looked at Kate.

Mike cleared his throat. "Hi, I'm Mike." He extended his hand to Kate.

"Hi Mike," Kate greeted with a big smile, "I think I remember you. You went to ULA too, right?"

"Yup, sure did," Mike said, "We had Econ together Senior year."

"Right, right. I remember now," Kate said, "It's nice to see you again."

Santana and Brittany watched the whole exchange. Maybe Kate had changed after all.

"You too," Mike said, "Well, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go attack that cheese plate over there."

Mike left leaving the three women.

"Kate, glad you made it," Brittany said.

"Thanks," Kate said shaking Brittany's hand. "Sorry I'm late. You know, traffic."

"At least you made it," Santana said, "It's nice to see you again."

"You too," Kate said, her eyes never leaving Santana. Her eyes wandered to Santana and Brittany's joined hands. "And what's going on here?"

Santana let out a chuckle, and noticed that Brittany's smile had disappeared.

"Brittany and I are together" Santana said, proudly.

"Oh! Is that right?" Kate asked, a small smirk on her face, "I had heard you were out playing the field."

Santana playfully rolled her eyes. "Where did you hear that? Total lie. I mostly spent my time working. Then Brittany moved back to L.A and, well, we reconnected," Santana said and squeezed Brittany's hand.

"So, I guess there really was something happening with you two back in college," Kate said, her smile now looking forced. "I knew it."

"It's...complicated," Santana said, "Anyway, that was a long time ago." Santana felt Brittany tighten her hold.

"I guess, I'm just confused," Kate went on.

"About what?" Brittany finally spoke. She didn't like the tone in Kate's voice or the way she kept looking at Santana.

"I thought you and Quinn got married in New York," Kate said, "I heard you two were like the top lesbian Hollywood power couple."

"Uh, no," Santana said, "You need to get new sources of information because so far, everything you've heard has been wrong."

"I guess so," Kate said slowly. She looked down at Brittany and Santana's joined hands again. "I guess I just expected Santana here to be dating a new girl every week."

"Seriously?" Santana couldn't help but chuckle.

"Come on," Kate teased, "Before we started dating you were the resident heart breaker."

"That was ages ago," Santana said, "And I was hardly the resident anything."

Kate turned to Brittany. "In college, she'd be dating one girl but seeing another, or two, on the side."

Brittany let go of Santana's hand and crossed her arms.

"That's no true," Santana protested, "Besides, how would you know? You were too busy doing the same to pay attention to anything I was doing."

"I paid attention," Kate said, "Still do."

Santana just smiled. She had been attracted to Kate instantly back in college and seeing her now made her think of that day they met. But at the same time, Santana tried to remember what it was about Kate that had made Santana ask her to be her girlfriend.

Brittany took a breath. She kept telling herself this was nothing, but she couldn't help being jealous of Kate. It really was like they were back in college.

Kate pointed to the two women in front of her. "But you two are still pretty new. That, I know is right."

Santana wasn't sure what the hell was happening. Kate had gone from happy and nice to sounding like she was interrogating them. "Technically, yes."

Kate's smile returned. Brittany narrowed her eyes.

"I'm happy for you two," Kate said, her nice tone returning. "I'm excited to work on this movie with both of you."

"Umm great," Santana said. She turned to Brittany and noticed her girlfriend did not look happy at all. "Right, Britt?"

"Sure." Brittany was trying not to pull Santana away and escaping Kate.

"Good. I should go say hi to Roz," Kate said, "We should have lunch, Santana.

"Uh, yeah, sure," Santana said, "We'd love to. Or even dinner."

"We'd love to," Brittany repeated with a forced smile.

"Right," Kate said, slowly, "OK, I should get back to mingling with the crowd. I'll call you later Santana and set something up."

"Sure." Santana just shrugged her shoulders as Kate walked away.

"I didn't like the way she looked at you," Brittany pouted, "I think she still has a thing for you."

Santana stepped closer to Brittany and gave her a kiss. "Then she's wasting her time. Because I'm taken and hopelessly in love with a director."

"That's me right?"

Santana's soft laugh made Brittany smile.

"Yes, you dork. You. Come on," Santana said, "Let's mingle and get this dinner over with."

Brittany kissed Santana back and reached for her hand. "Let's make a movie."

###

Santana looked out the window at the passing city, her hand firmly clasped with Brittany's. The limo was taking them back home.

Brittany leaned closer and whispered. "Thank you for doing this."

"Anything for you."

The dinner had been the typical Hollywood dinner Brittany had expected. It was mostly everyone praising everyone else on how talented they are and how this movie was going to be a big hit. Brittany had tried to stay by Santana's side as much as possible because she clearly looked uncomfortable. Not to mention, Brittany had noticed Kate staring at Santana the whole night.

Roz had taken a great liking to Rachel which made Quinn and Brittany happy. Kate on the other hand, had not been too pleased to learn she'd have to compete for the main role with one Rachel Berry. But, in true Hollywood fashion, she put on a big smile and agreed to do a screen test.

By hour three, Santana was willing to kill someone if it meant she could go home. For most of the evening, she fielded questions on what inspired her to write this story and luckily she managed to keep it vague. Kate had brought up some scenes in the script she said sounded familiar but figured that it was because she had read Santana's original short story.

"I read all your books," Kate had told her.

Santana had simply thanked her. Towards the end of the night, Santana had thought she had escaped being asked to be on set for re-writes. She was wrong. Both Roz and Kate had insisted she be on set at least two to three times a week just in case.

"I'm sorry, but I have a job that needs my full attention," she had told them.

In in another typical Hollywood move, Roz had offered to pay her more money. For a studio that was going bankrupt, Santana didn't understand where Roz was getting all this money. Santana had looked at Brittany who, without saying a word, told her to do what she wanted.

"Fine," Santana had said, "Two days for a couple of hours. And I'll take that pay."

Now, on the way home, Santana wondered if she had done the right thing.

"You don't have to be on set, you know." Quinn sat to the left side of the limo, playing with her phone.

"I want to."

"No you don't." Quinn shook her head. "But I'm glad you are. Brittany and I could use allies on set."

"Sign me up for Team Brittany and Quinn," Santana said with a smile.

###

Quinn, Santana and Brittany stood in the driveway and watched the limo drive away. It was almost midnight and everyone looked exhausted.

"It's freezing out here," Quinn said, "Let's go inside."

Santana yawned. She didn't realize how tiring kissing Hollywood ass was. She followed Quinn and Brittany and the three were immediately greeted by one fat cat.

"Hi sweetie," Brittany cooed as she bent down to pick him up. "Are you hungry?"

"When is he not?" Santana asked under her breath.

Quinn let out a tired sigh. "I'm beat. I'm going to bed to rest so I have the energy to spend the day with my mother tomorrow."

"What are you guys doing?" Brittany asked, scratching Lord Tubbington's ear.

"I'm helping her out at the restaurant for a few hours." Quinn yawned. "Hmm. Sorry, I need my bed. You two should stop by for lunch."

"That sounds cool," Santana said. As Quinn bid them good night and began to walk to her room, Santana stopped her. "Hey wait. Have you called Sam? He's been bugging me to find out if you're interested or what?"

"I texted him earlier," Quinn said with a small smile, "We're going out next week."

"You guys would be so cute together," Brittany said, excited.

"Remember what I told you," Santana warned, "If you hurt..."

"I heard you," Quinn interrupted, "Yell at me tomorrow. I'm tired and going to sleep. Bye."

After Quinn left, Brittany turned and handed Lord Tubbington to Santana.

"What are you doing?" Santana quickly lifted her arms to keep from dropping the fat cat. She heard him growl.

"Take him to my room," Brittany said, "I'm going to go get his bedtime snack ready."

"Britt…"

Brittany was already halfway to the kitchen, trying not to giggle.

Santana heard the cat growl again. "Hey we had a deal, remember?" She scratched his ear just like Brittany usually did. The growling stopped. "Come on Tubbs, we'll never be BFFs, but at least we can be civil to each other." By the time she entered Brittany's room, Santana was sure the cat was purring. She put him on the floor and sighed. "Once you eat, you disappear, OK? Britt and I need some alone time."

Santana stretched and then began to take off her earrings. She had only been in Brittany's bedroom last week but she felt right at home. She smiled. Brittany felt like home. Santana was sure that she could be living in an igloo and as long as Brittany was with her, it would feel like home.

"Why are you smiling?" Brittany came in with a small bowl.

"I'm just happy to be home," Santana said.

Brittany put the bowl down and Lord Tubbington began to greedily eat his snack. "But this isn't even your house?"

Santana walked over to Brittany and put her arms around her neck. "I know."

"Is this a riddle?"

"Maybe." Santana placed a soft kiss on Brittany's cheek. "I'll tell you the answer one day." She let Brittany go and walked to the dresser to finish taking off her jewelry.

"Did you like the dinner?" Brittany began taking off her own jewelry.

"Actually yes. The food was delicious."

Brittany touched Santana's arm. "You don't have to go to the set. I know how much you hate it."

"I told you," Santana began, "I'll do anything to make this movie a success and keep you here. OK?"

"OK." Brittany felt her chest tighten from the love she felt for this woman.

"The art was shit though," Santana said with a laugh. She went to the bathroom and started to remove her makeup. "So, you think you can work with Kate then?" she asked with a smile.

"She was..." Brittany said walking into the bathroom and went to her sink, "Interesting." She too began to remove her makeup.

"Interesting," Santana repeated with a smile.

"She was flirting with you," Brittany said her voice even.

"No, she wasn't," Santana said.

"Yes, she was."

Santana just smiled, amused.

Brittany finished up and started walking towards the door. Santana, also finished, followed her and put her arm around her waist, her mouth close to her ear.

"Were you jealous?" Santana whispered.

"I was annoyed," Brittany said walking away.

"OK," Santana said, "Maybe she was flirting with me and maybe I liked the compliments, who wouldn't?"

"Right," Brittany said standing by the dresser.

Santana went and sat at the edge of the bed, facing Brittany, "You wouldn't like it if someone told you you had a great body?" she asked.

"Would you like it," Brittany said coming closer, "If someone told me I had a great body and kept looking at me like they wanted to rip my clothes off?"

"She wasn't looking at me like that," Santana said reaching for Brittany and placing her hands on her hips, "And no, I wouldn't like it if someone said that and looked at you like that."

"See," Brittany said, placing her hand on Santana shoulders, looking down at her.

"Well, she can look all she wants," Santana said softly running her hands down Brittany's hips to her thighs, "Everyone can look all they want." Santana's hand kept sliding down until they came in contact with the bare skin of Brittany's thighs, "That's all they can do...look."

Santana ran her hand up Brittany's thighs, under her dress, making Brittany's breathing quicken. Santana placed one hand on Brittany's hip and the other between Brittany's legs, parting them.

Brittany felt like she hadn't been touched by Santana in years. It was amazing how with one touch, Santana could turn her into a quivering mess.

"I only want you," Santana said softly. She slid her fingers between the elastic of Brittany's underwear and grazed her clit.

"Haahhh," Brittany breathed. She closed her eyes and squeezed Santana's shoulders on reflex. She knew she was being silly about being jealous of Kate but now that she finally had Santana, she almost felt a little possessive.

"I only want you, to want me," Santana continued, as her fingers slipped down between Brittany's moist folds. It was the truth. All Santana ever wanted, could want was this woman. To love her and be loved by her. Only her.

Brittany let out a small yelp at feeling Santana's fingers suddenly inside her. She closed her eyes and tried to control her rapidly erratic breathing as she felt Santana slip in and out of her.

Santana felt her clit throb and her breathing quicken, her intense desire taking over. She pulled her fingers out, causing Brittany to whimper in disappointment. Santana grabbed the hem of Brittany's dress and began to lift it up. She needed to see and feel more of Brittany's skin.

Brittany took the dress and pulled it over her head, revealing her black lace panties and bra. She felt like she was burning up.

"You're so soft," Santana breathed as she ran her hands up Brittany's stomach. She stood up, she needed to kiss her. Santana grabbed the back of Brittany's neck and forcefully brought their lips together.

"Mmmm," Brittany moaned. She thrust her tongue between Santana's parted lips and franticly unzip Santana's dress and push it down her body. They both slipped out of their shoes and Brittany pushed Santana back causing her to fall on the bed, with Brittany on top.

Santana wrapped her arms around Brittany's back, pressing her closer, their tongues never stopping their dance. Brittany's hand quickly found the top of Santana's panties with the plan to return the delicious torture she had experienced just a few moments before.

"Oh God," Brittany said, her voice soft and out of breath, "Santana!"

Santana felt herself on fire. Brittany's hand began to rub her clit hard and fast, Santana's arousal soaking Brittany's fingers.

"Fu...ck!" Santana let out. She wanted more and her bra and panties were quickly becoming a nuisance, "Take...uh...off."

Brittany lifted herself off and Santana suddenly felt cold. She needed her back, fast. Brittany quickly did away with both their undergarments with trembling hands. When she was done, she looked down at a beautifully naked Santana.

"Don't just...look," Santana said, breathless, "Touch me."

In a split second, Brittany was on top of her again capturing her lips in hers. Santana opened her mouth wide to allow Brittany's tongue to explore her own. Their lips moving with and around each other, tasting.

Santana spread her legs wide causing Brittany to fall between them. She let out a gasp into Brittany's mouth when Brittany's center hit her swollen clit. Santana began to thrust her hips upwards to get as much contact as possible.

"Britt.." Santana managed to say. She reached down to Brittany's sex, her hands almost shaking. She needed more. More of Brittany.

Brittany again pulled back and kneeled in between Santana's legs, fully naked, chest heaving, and placed a hand on each of Santana's knees.

Santana watched her in awe. She's so beautiful, Santana thought.

"You..." Brittany began to say, "You're amazing." She slid her hands down the top of Santana's thighs as she lowered herself to kiss her again. Brittany reached between them and aligned their wet, hard clit together.

"Fuck!" They both said at the same time.

Brittany began to thrust, hard, their desire dripping on each other. Santana tried to keep her eyes open, to see Brittany, but the pleasure was too intense. Santana moved her hand down Brittany's back down to her ass and squeezed, pulling her closer, wanting more contact. More...more...more.

"Brittany!" Santana said, her breath catching in her throat. Their sweat covered bodies grinding against each other.

Santana knew she was close. Brittany was close. She felt her self tighten... harder...harder..

"I..." Santana tried to say. She felt the muscles in Brittany's ass tighten and knew...Santana let her orgasm wash over her body only seconds after Brittany's.

They both cried out in pleasure.

Brittany collapsed on top of Santana, burying her face in her neck waiting for her breathing to settle.

"Only you," Santana whispered, "Only you."

"Only you," Brittany repeated.

###

Santana slowly woke up with Brittany in her arms. Brittany had her back up against her and she was still asleep. Santana kissed Brittany's shoulder and smiled. Brittany didn't move, so Santana kissed her shoulder again. Still nothing.

Maybe I should let her sleep. Santana thought.

She tightened her grip.

"Mmmm," Brittany moaned. She thought she felt kisses on her skin but wasn't sure if she was dreaming.

Santana kissed her shoulder again, then her neck and finally nibbled her ear. Santana felt Brittany slowly wake up.

"Mmmm," Brittany moaned again, stirring, "That's my...mmmm...ear." Nope, not a dream.

"It's my breakfast," Santana said, running her tongue the length of the back of Brittany's ear.

"Is it good?" Brittany giggled. Santana's lips were tickling her.

"Delicious," Santana said.

"What time is it?" Brittany asked in a sleepy voice.

"Around 7:45."

"Too early," Brittany said wiggling herself out of Santana's grip and turning around to face her. Brittany slid down a bit and buried her face between Santana's breasts, "My breakfast."

Santana laughed.

Before Santana could fully enjoy being on Brittany's menu, her cell phone rang.

"Ugh," Santana said, "Who the fuck is calling so early?"

"It's the weekend," Brittany said, "Don't answer it." Brittany took one of Santana's nipples in her mouth.

"If...uh...you say so," Santana moaned.

After the fourth ring, the phone stopped. Brittany flipped Santana on her back and continued to feast.

"Breakfast of champions," Brittany said as she moved on the other breast.

The phone rang again.

"Shit," Santana said, "What the fuck?"

"OK," Brittany said looking up, "Answer it and tell whoever it is that your busy being sexually serviced by your girlfriend."

"Yeah," Santana said chuckling, "I'll use those exact words." Santana reached over to the nightstand for her phone and answered without looking at the caller ID.

"Hello," Santana said not hiding her annoyance.

"Santana! Good morning!"

"Uh, good morning," Santana said not recognizing the voice, "Um, who is this?"

"Come on, Santana," Kate said, "I know you haven't forgotten my voice."

"Kate?" Santana said confused.

Brittany was suddenly wide awake. Why the hell was Kate calling Santana, she wondered.

"Did you like the dinner last night?" Kate said cheerfully.

"Uh, it was great Kate...You do realize that it's not even 8 in the morning." Santana said.

"Yeah, so?" Kate asked, "You were always up before 7 am, so I'd figure this wasn't too early."

"That was in college. I sleep in now," Santana said.

Brittany rolled over, off of Santana.

"What does she want?" Brittany whispered. Not only did Kate manage to ruin a good dinner last night, now she was ruining a good breakfast.

Santana just shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh, sorry," Kate said, but Santana didn't think she meant it. "OK, sorry to wake you, old lady. Just wanted to see if you were up for lunch today. Or dinner."

"Um, I can't today," Santana said, "Brittany and I are, uh, we have lunch plans with Quinn."

"Quinn? You just saw her last night."

"Sorry, we made these plans weeks ago," Santana lied, "Umm, how about we do dinner on Monday?"

"Monday it is," Kate said, "You pick the place."

"Uh yea," Santana said, still a bit confused about this call, "How about Monday at The Red Barron then? 6:30?"

"Can't wait," Kate said, "See you then."

"Bye," Santana said, hanging up.

"Why the hell did she call so early?" Brittany let her irritation show.

"She wanted to have lunch or dinner today."

"So you're having dinner with her Monday?"

"We're having dinner with her," Santana corrected.

"I'm sure you want to catch up," Brittany huffed, "I can sit this one out."

"Really?" Santana said, "You don't want to go? At least to make sure she doesn't rip my clothes off?" Santana winked.

"If she tries that, you'll punch her," Brittany said, "Right in the face. OK?"

"Yes, ma'am," Santana chuckled.

"Now." Brittany moved closer to Santana. "Back to my breakfast."

"I kept them warm for you," Santana said seductively.

Brittany smiled, but her smile quickly disappeared. "When did you give her your number?" Brittany asked.

Santana thought about it for a second. "I didn't. She must have gotten it from Roz, I guess."

"Oh." Brittany knew that was probably the case.

"Your breakfast is getting cold," Santana said with a smile.

Brittany's smile returned.

###

Sunday was spent having lunch with Quinn at her mom's restaurant and a continued quest to find Brittany a car. Santana was not a patient person, she knew this, but she also knew that when it came to Brittany her patience wasn't an issue. However, after the third lot, Santana was kind of losing it.

"Sweetie, it's just a car," Santana said trying to keep from sounding upset, "We've been looking for two days and all the cars are looking the same."

Brittany sighed. She hated that she was making Santana go all over town and wasting their weekend together in car lots. She just couldn't make up her mind. She was about to apologize when something got her attention at the far end of the lot. "Santana! Come on!"

Santana felt Brittany pull her arm and practically drag her to the other end of the lot where the motorcycles and scooters were displayed. "Oh hell no!" When the reached the section, Santana saw Brittany's face light up. "No way. You are not buying a motorcycle. There's no protection! One hit and you're brain is all over the pavement. Nope. No way."

"Oh com on, Santana." Brittany's smile grew bigger as she mounted one of the motorcycles. "Look how awesome this one is! And I can avoid all the traffic."

Santana continued to shake her head. "Do you even know how to ride a motorcycle?"

"Yup." Brittany got off and hopped on another one. "I was motocross champion all through high school. I still ride at least once a month."

Santana blinked a few times in surprise. Although it felt like they had known each other for many years, there was still a lot about Brittany that Santana didn't know. "Really?"

"Uh huh." Brittany smiled at Santana. "Next time I go, I'll take you with me. I look super hot in my motorcross gear."

Santana felt her mouth go dry. She had no doubt Brittany did indeed look hot in her gear and the mental image that suddenly popped up in her mind was actually turning her on. "That's, uh..."

"Say the word," Brittany teased, "And I'll totally wear it in the bedroom for you."

Before Santana could respond, a salesman came up and asked Brittany if she wanted to buy that bike.

"Maybe," Brittany said.

"No!" Santana said at the same time. "Can you give us a few minutes?"

The man nodded and left.

"Don't worry Santana," Brittany assured, "I know how to ride. I have a motorcycle license. It's fine."

"No, it's not," Santana said, "I don't like the idea of you riding this thing when there are a bunch of idiot drivers out there. At least in a car, you have some protection."

Brittany dismounted the bike and went over to Santana. "Do you really not want me to get a motorcycle?"

Santana closed her eyes and let out a breath. She wasn't Brittany's mom and if Brittany wanted a bike, she should get one. But the mere thought of Brittany being in an accident on that thing scared her like nothing before. She slowly shook her head.

"OK."

"What?"

"OK." Brittany said softly, "I won't get one."

Santana felt like an idiot. "No. You should. I...who am I to tell you what to do? If you want a motorcycle, then get one."

Brittany cupped Santana's face. "You are my girlfriend and I don't want you to spend all day worrying about me. Besides, I was just thinking about it and not totally serious."

"Britt..."

Brittany leaned in and kissed her. "I won't get a motorcycle."

"No?"

"No." Brittany let Santana go. "Actually, I'm thinking something just a tad bigger."

"And what is that?" Santana asked with a chuckle.

"A Mini-Cooper."

"That...actually fits you," Santana said, "It's perfect."

"OK, done." Brittany grabbed Santana's hand. "Let's go find that guy so I can buy this thing and we can go home."

"Thank you," Santana said, "I just don't want anything happening to you, and yes, I realize I'm being way overprotective, but I can't help it."

Brittany brought Santana in for a hug. "I love that you want me to be safe. I want the same for you."

Santana pulled back. "If anything happened to you, I don't know what I'd do."

"Nothing's going to happen," Brittany said, "Now, let's get this whole car stuff over with. We have a busy week coming up."

Santana gave Brittany one last kiss before they went to find the salesman.

###

The week flew by. Santana found herself getting ready for her reading later tonight, attending an insane amount of meetings and drowning in a sea of term papers that needed grading. Her and Brittany's arrangement to have dinner every night was on hold. With the movie now on it's way to actually getting made, Brittany had been spending more time at the studio.

Santana looked up from the paper she was grading and stretched. She looked out the window of her office at the bright sun shining on the campus and it made her want to go on a picnic. She wondered if Brittany liked picnics.

It was already Thursday and Santana eagerly awaited the weekend and hoped Brittany wouldn't have to work. One good thing about this movie keeping everyone busy was that Kate had to cancel her dinner date with Santana.

Santana had gotten a message from Kate saying she'd call her when she had some free time. She hoped that day never came. She really had no interest in reconnecting with Kate at all. As soon as that thought left her mind, her phone rang.

"Hello."

"What a crazy week, right?"

Santana had no idea who this was. "Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry I haven't called."

Santana silently groaned. "Hi Kate. Look, don't even worry about it. I'm sure you're super busy with the movie."

"Well, thanks to Brittany and Quinn, I'm pretty much booked," Kate said with a hint of annoyance, "You know they made me do a screen test? Me? Apparently, I'm up against Rachel Berry for the lead. I mean, that has to be a joke, right?"

"Why is that a joke?" Santana suddenly felt weirdly defensive of Rachel. "She's a good actress and I'm sure they just want to make sure the right part goes to the right actress.

"Umm, right," Kate said, any annoyance gone from her voice, "I guess I just assumed I'd get the lead with the way Roz was talking this up. Anyway, whatever role I get I'll be great. I mean you did write it."

"Uh, sure."

"So, about that dinner," Kate said, "I really want to catch up. Last time we saw each other wasn't the best."

"Break ups aren't fun for anyone," Santana said.

There was a long pause before Kate spoke again.

"I was...young," Kate said, "I didn't know what I wanted."

"And now you do?" Santana asked.

"Look, I wasn't the greatest girlfriend and I am sorry about that."

Santana let out a breath. "I wasn't exactly the best either."

"See," Kate said, "We need to catch up. Let's do dinner tonight."

"Umm..." Santana had hoped to finally spend a dinner this week with Brittany but so far she hadn't heard from her girlfriend.

"Come on," Kate said, "Brittany's neck deep in prep for this movie so I'm pretty sure she's working late."

"Sure, why not." Santana just gave in. She was sure Brittany would be too busy anyway, "But it has to be really early. I have a reading at eight."

"You still do those? I never did go to one, huh?"

"Nope. But it's fine. Whatever." Santana shrugged it off.

"How about 5? Then maybe I can go with you to your reading."

Santana rolled her eyes. She was willing to do dinner, but that was it. "You don't have to..."

"I want to," Kate interrupted, "To make up for all the ones I missed when we were together."

"I'm really over it." Santana was slightly taken aback by how sweet Kate's voice was. "It's fine."

"I'll be at the school at 5."

Santana hung up and texted Brittany and told her what was going on and if she wanted to come to dinner too. Just as she expected, Brittany couldn't make it and had to work late.

"Like I needed another reason to hate this damn movie," Santana told herself.

She went back to grading papers and await this dinner with Kate.

###

Brittany had hoped she could see Santana for dinner, but with the movie really starting to get of the ground, she had so much work to do. Roz was in her office looking at Rachel and Kate's screen tests and Brittany just hoped she'd see that Rachel was the right choice for the lead.

There was a knock at her office door.

"Come in." Brittany looked up and smiled.

"Hi. My name is Mercedes and I'm your best friend."

Brittany got up and went to embrace Mercedes in a big hug. "Yay!"

Mercedes laughed and hugged back. "I almost forgot what you looked like."

"I'm so glad you're here," Brittany said stepping back, "I missed you."

"Me too, girl."

Brittany lead Mercedes to take a seat. "You've been working too hard."

"Tell me about it. But I managed to get the singer I wanted signed and it's a done deal. You wait until next year and Regina Lane will be a huge music star."

"If you say so," Brittany said with a chuckle. Seeing Mercedes Brittany was struck by how much she had missed her friend these past several days. They kept in constat contact through text, email and phone but it wasn't the same. "I'm glad you're done with that singer cause I have an offer for you."

"Offer? So this isn't a meeting to talk about another chapter in the Santana Chronicles?" Mercedes teased.

"No silly. I, and Quinn, wanted to see if you'd like to handle the music for the movie."

Mercedes blinked a few times. "The music?"

"Yeah. You have awesome taste and you'd totally produce a killer soundtrack."

"You want me to produce the soundtrack?" Mercedes looked like she still couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Did you go deaf since I last saw you?" Brittany asked seriously.

"Yes!"

"Yes, you went deaf? Then how did you just hear what I asked?"

"No, you werido," Mercedes said, "Yes, I'll do the soundtrack."

"Sweet! This is going to be so awesome and now we can work together."

"This is so amazing," Mercedes said, excited, "I'm going to produce a soundtrack."

"An awesome soundtrack," Brittany said, "Quinn and Roz love the idea. Wow, this movie really is turning out to be like we're all back in college."

Mercedes chuckled. "Right? Next you'll end up getting Kurt to do the wardrobe."

"Oh! I should have thought of that earlier!" Brittany picked up her phone, "I wonder if he'll do it."

"Girl, calm down," Mercedes said, "Put that phone down and tell me more about this movie. Who's in it? All I know is that Santana wrote it and that it's about you guys. Well, all of us really."

Brittany set her phone down. She'd call Kurt later. "Rachel is the front runner for the lead and umm...Kate Dawson too."

"Wait, hold up." Mercedes put up her hand. "Bitch Kate? Santana's ex-girlfriend Kate?"

Brittany nodded.

"You didn't tell me all that!" Mercedes chastised. "Come on now. Spill."

Brittany took a breath and told Mercedes how Kate had come back into their lives.

###

So far the dinner was going pretty well. Santana let go of the image she had of Ex-Girlfriend Kate and allowed herself to get to know Grownup Kate. She liked Grownup Kate much better. Sure, there were still traces of the selfish, narcissistic girl she used to know, but it wasn't as bad.

For the most part they just talked about what had happened since they last saw each other. It was all work talk until halfway through dinner Kate turned the conversation personal.

"So, you and Brittany."

"What about us?" Santana asked.

"How long has that been going on?" Kate's smile seemed sincere but Santana wasn't sure.

"Officially? A few weeks," Santana said, "Unofficially? About six years."

"So you two were together back in college." Kate shook her head and chuckled. "I had a feeling. Is she why you broke up with me?"

Santana put her fork down. "I broke up with you because we were all wrong for each other. And you knew that. The thing with Brittany...that happened after we broke up."

"So what happened?" Kate asked, "I mean, word around the biz was that Brittany and Quinn were practically married."

Santana clenched her jaw. "That was a long time ago. And what word? Who tells you these things?"

"Just the Hollywood Lesbian Network," Kate joked, "Seriously though, Brittany and Quinn were the 'It' couple just like we used to be."

"Well things change." Santana forced herself to smile.

"Or not," Kate said, "I've gotten to work with them this week. Seen them around each other and it sort of looks like there may still be something there."

Santana crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. The Red Barron was not quite packed but there were enough people for Santana to control herself from making a scene. "OK. Listen. Brittany and Quinn are done. They've been done for years and are just friends now. Brittany loves me, not Quinn."

Kate's face softened. "I just don't want you to get hurt. I care about you Santana."

"We haven't seen each other in years and you're telling me you care about me?" Santana scoffed.

"Believe it or not, I was in love with you," Kate said, "And maybe back then we were too immature to be together. But people grow up."

Santana furrowed her brow in confusion. "So what are you saying?"

Kate was silent for a moment before she gave Santana a small smile. "Nothing. Just, making an observation."

"Umm, OK," Santana said slowly.

They continued their dinner and Santana was glad that any relationship talk had ended. She didn't want to talk about her relationship with Brittany to Kate.

###

Brittany checked the clock on the dashboard of her brand new car. She needed to hurry. Tonight was Santana's reading and there was no way that Brittany was going to miss it, not when she promised Santana she wold be there.

She pulled into the parking lot of ULA and was lucky to find a spot right away. She got out of the car and practically ran to the hall where she found that everyone was almost seated. She chanced a look at the front row and saw one empty seat.

"Brittany!" Santana felt a big smile form on her face and a wave of relief wash over her at seeing her girlfriend. She was afraid Brittany was going to miss this.

Brittany walked down the main aisle to hug Santana. "I'm so sorry I'm late. There's so much traffic. Plus I left late."

Santana pulled back with a chuckle. "I'm just glad you're here and that the seat I saved you won't be empty."

"I told you I'd be here," Brittany said. She really wanted to kiss her but didn't think making out in front of all of Santana's professor co-workers would be professional.

"Well I guess, I sit in the back."

Brittany froze as she recognized the voice behind her. She turned around to see exactly who she thought it was."Kate?"

"Hey Brittany." Kate had the sweetest smile on her face. "I figured you'd be working late so I offered to take your seat. You know, so it wouldn't look like Santana got stood up."

"I would never stand her up," Brittany said defensively "What are you doing here? I thought you guys were just having dinner."

Santana reached for Brittany's hand and gave it a light squeeze. "Kate wanted to come for support. Isn't that nice?" Santana emphasized the question hoping Brittany would just let it go.

Brittany forced a smile. "That was nice of you Kate."

"Well, I figured since I missed all the ones she did when I was her girlfriend, I should at least try to make it up to her now that we're...friends."

"Friends," Brittany repeated slowly. If she didn't need to be nice to Kate for the sake of the movie she would definitely tell her to leave.

Santana leaned in to Brittany and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll tell you everything later," she whispered in her ear.

"Ladies and gentleman, we're about to begin."

Santana turned to the stage and saw Will up at the podium. "OK, I'm up. Don't fall asleep, OK?"

Brittany couldn't help but smile. "I won't. I promise."

Everyone took their seats. Brittany sat in the seat right in front of the podium which gave her the best view of Santana. Kate ended up sitting somewhere in the back.

After about 30 minutes Brittany was getting sleepy but fought it off. She was so tired after working almost 12 hours but she knew she couldn't fall asleep. For one, this was not the most comfortable seat and, two, Santana was up next.

Will introduced Santana and she took the stage. She felt insanely proud of herself at hearing the loud applause and felt her heart soar at seeing Brittany cheering the loudest.

"Thank you. Thank you." Santana waited until the crowd settled down. "I want to thank everyone for coming out tonight to hear all of us speak." she winked at Brittany which made the other girl slightly blush. "As you know, many of my stories are...well, dark and kind of depressing."

The light laughter from the audience told Santana everyone agreed.

"Well, for my next book, I've decided to try something different," Santana went on, "I've only written one chapter so far but I wanted to share it with you today. It's a story about how anything's possible and how maybe there is such a thing as fate." Santana looked at Brittany again and smiled. "A real love story."

Brittany felt her heart flutter. She didn't think it could actually do that, but it did. "I love you." she mouthed. Santana winked again.

"It's still a rough draft." Sanata turned to the audience again. "So, be nice." She waited for the soft laughter to die down before she started reading. She hadn't told Brittany she was writing a new story because she wanted this to be a surprise. This time, their story would have a happy ending.

Santana looked to the back of the room where she saw Kate with a sort of scowl on her face. In that moment right there she prayed to all the Gods out there that Rachel got the lead and for Kate to go back to doing Lifetime movies. Brittany needed to make a good movie so she could stay in L.A. and looking at Kate sitting there in the back, Santana knew that her ex-girlfriend needed to be far away from this project as possible.

**-tbc-**

* * *

**A/N: I'm so sorry for the long wait. Life just got crazy. Thank you so much to those still following and reading and commenting. Hope you all have a great holiday. Only two chapters left, almost done. :)**


	24. You and Me

Brittany was a little nervous and her leg wouldn't stop bouncing. She and Quinn were waiting for Roz in her office waiting to hear what the studio head thought about the two actresses up for the main role. It had been a few weeks now and Roz still couldn't make up her mind. Most of the supporting characters had already been cast and time was ticking. If they wanted this movie to make it for Oscar consideration, they needed to get started yesterday.

"Calm down." Quinn placed a hand on Brittany's knee to calm her. "Rachel's going to get it. There's no way Roz would want Kate after seeing those screen tests."

"This movie has be be perfect." Brittany was worried. "It has to be. If it's not then we have to go back to New York and I have to leave Santana. I can't leave her." Brittany took a breath and felt Quinn give her knee a light squeeze.

"Everything is going to be fine."

Roz practically stormed in to her office and headed straight to her desk. "Alright ladies, let's get down to business. There are two reasons why I've been dragging my feet on this."

"What are they?" Quinn asks.

"Well, the main reason is that I'm thinking of just scraping this movie all together."

"What?!" Both Brittany and Quinn were beyond surprised.

"I was looking at the numbers," Roz said, "And, hell, the execs and I think it's cheaper to just sell this place for parts. We can actually make a profit."

"You can't do that!" Brittany got up. "You said that if we made a movie that gets this place buzz, we wouldn't have to close it down!"

"Calm yourself." Roz leaned back in her chair and waited for Brittany to sit down.

Quinn was next to speak. "Are you really just giving up? Letting all those people that work for you lose their job so you and the execs can save some money?"

"It's been talked about." Roz took a breath. "I'm gonna be honest with you two since we've worked together longer than my last marriage and because Holly is a good friend of mine and she loves you both. The execs are split on what to do. Some want the movie, others want to sell and get out."

"What do you want?" Brittany asked.

"I want to go back to New York. Moviemaking is simpler back home. Wouldn't you two rather go back in New York?"

Brittany shook her head. "No. L.A. is my home. I want to stay here and so does Quinn." She looked to her friend for confirmation.

"I want to stay here." Quinn said.

"Like I said," Roz went on, "It's split. And I'm really not interested in running this studio if you manage to fix this mess. This city gives me hives."

Brittany sat up in her chair, excited at the idea that suddenly popped in her head. "Quinn can run it!"

"What?" Quinn looked shocked at the suggestion.

Brittany felt a big smile form. "Quinn can totally run this place. She did a great job in New York, she's great at bossing people around and she's super organized. If you don't want to be here Roz, give your job to Quinn."

"Britt that's crazy," Quinn said with a nervous chuckle.

Brittany kept her eyes on Roz who seemed to be seriously thinking this over. "Well?"

"Maybe."

"Seriously?" Quinn see moved to sit at the edge of her seat.

"Kooky here is right," Roz said, "You turned out to be an average filmmaker but a genius at studio management. The board loves you and I don't think any of them would object to you heading this place. Especially since it's in the shit hole already. I mean, you really can't ruin this place more than it is now."

Brittany wanted to jump up and down. Having Quinn as head of the studio would be perfect and would guarantee this movie was done right.

"I can do this." Quinn looked determined.

"It's not that easy, Sunshine," Roz said, "I'll make my recommendation to the investors and then we vote. But as of now, your first duty of almost-maybe-studio head is to take the reins of this movie. I'm done. Dealing with Kate Dawson and Rachel Berry at that party was torture. You decide. Who gets the lead?"

Brittany smiled.

"Rachel," Quinn said, "Rachel Berry gets the lead."

###

Santana finished up the rewrite of the last paragraph of her second chapter. She usually rewrote the first few chapters of all her stories a few times before she was happy with it. She seemed to be extra critical of this new book, however. This one was different. She wanted to write a real love story without making it corny and unlike her other books, this would be her first story where her two main characters wouldn't be heterosexual

She had always wanted to write a story about two women, but her publishers wouldn't give her the green light. Always saying that Santana needed to reach a broader audience to sell books. Not this time. Broad audiences be damned. She was now famous enough in the literary world that she had a pretty dedicated fan base and Santana was sure her new book would sell well. And even if she didn't, she didn't care. This story was for her. This story was for Brittany. That's all Santana cared about.

She had gone home early because of ULA's annual spirit rally where all afternoon clases were canceled so the students could get into some school spirit. Santana remembered those and how much she hated them. As head cheerleader she had to be front and center all day long. Now as a teacher, she could opt not to attent.

She got up and went to the kitchen for some water. She hoped Brittany would be able to make dinner tonight because Santana wanted to ask Brittany about the possibility of her moving in. Santana smiled at the thought. They had only been together a little less than three months, but it already felt like a lifetime. But at the same time, it felt like they had only seen each other at the pet fair again last week.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the doorbell. "Coming!" When Santana opened the door she was at a loss at to why this person was here. "Kate?" Kate didn't even wait to be invited and simply walked in. "How did you know where I lived?"

"You need to do something." Kate seemed almost frantic.

"What's wrong?" Santana asked closing the door.

"I'll tell you what's wrong," Kate said as she paced back and forth, "You're so-called girlfriend and her lover Quinn gave the lead to Rachel! Fucking Rachel!"

Santana gritted her teeth. "Brittany's not my 'so-called' girlfriend. She is my girlfriend and how many times do I have to tell you that Quinn..."

"Listen Santana," Kate interrupted, "I'm perfect for the lead and you know it. You have to talk to them. They only chose Rachel because they're friends."

"Stop." Santana put up her hand. "This is not my business. Brittany and Quinn makes the decisions, not me."

"They're making a huge mistake." Kate sate down on the nearby couch and ran her hand through her hair.

Santana sighed. She didn't need this right now. "I'm sorry Kate, but I have nothing to do with this." Santana sat next to Kate and patted her back gently. "I'm sure they gave you another role, right?"

"They want me to play the Queen character," Kate said through a forced smile.

Santana tried not to smile. Kate playing Quinn's character was pretty funny. "That's a great character, she has a big part."

"I guess," Kate sighed, "I just really wanted the lead. I would have loved to be the lead on a movie you wrote." Kate reached over and squeezed Santana's knee.

"Uh, thanks." Santana got up. "You want something to drink?"

"Sure."

Santana left for the kitchen and poured a glass of water. She knew what Kate was doing. Ever since the party, Kate had randomly called up Santana to talk and that talk almost always turned to their days as a couple. Every now and then, Kate would hint that Brittany and Quinn weren't totally over each other.

"She's wants you back," Brittany had said, "I told you this weeks ago."

Every time Kate had called, Santana had told Brittany. The last thing she wanted was for Brittany to think anything was going on with Kate.

Santana took the glass and went back to her unexpected guest. It was time to set the record straight. "Here you go."

Kate took the glass and took a sip. "You always knew how to calm me down. Thank you."

Santana sat back down, but this time on the lounge chair adjacent to the couch. "Sure."

Kate put the glass down on the coffee table and gave Santana a sweet smile. "We compliment each other Santana. I think we'd really be able to make us work now that we're more mature."

Santana shook her head. This needed to stop. "Listen Kate. We are done. We were done years ago. Honestly, we were done even when we were together. I love Brittany. I'm in love with her and I'm going to love her for the rest of my life. I'm going to marry Brittany and have babies and grow old with her. So, you and I? Never going to happen."

Kate's sweet smile turned sour. "Is that so? Even though Brittany is probably fucking Quinn in her office right now? You need to open your eyes Santana. They are not over. You should see them together..."

"I have seen them together!" Santana practically yelled, "I've seen them together as friends and more than friends. They are just friends now and no matter how many times you try to tell me something is going on with them, I'm not going to believe it because it's not true!" Santana scoffed. "Maybe you haven't changed. I thought we could be friends but you trying to sabotage my relationship with Brittany is not what friends do. If you think coming around or calling me is going to somehow make me fall in love with you, you're wasting your time."

Kate slowly got up. "It's too bad Brittany won't be around much longer."

"What the fuck do you mean by that?" Santana got up as well.

"Rumor has it that if this movie tanks or isn't finished on time, Brittany and Quinn will have to go back to New York," Kate said as she started walking to the door, "It'd be a shame if something were to delay production."

"How the hell did you know that?" Santana followed Kate to the door, "You better not do anything to ruin this movie for them."

Kate gave Santana a smug smile. "I'm nothing if not the ultimate professional." Kate opened the door and walked out.

"You better not fuck this up!" Santana shouted from her door. She watched Kate get in the car. When Santana saw Kate drive off her driveway she went back inside. "Fuck!"

###

"I can't believe this is happening."

Brittany went over to Quinn and gave her a big hug. She lifted her up and spun her around. "This is so awesome You're going to be a studio boss!" Brittany put her down and went back to her desk to finish packing up. They were in Brittany's office getting ready to close out the day.

Quinn was still in a bit of a shock. "We may actually be able to make this movie the way we want it."

"Yes! And with Mercedes doing the music and Kurt the wardrobe, we're saving money." Brittany finished packing and sat back down at her chair. "Rachel was super excited. I think she hurt my ear from all that shrieking. She kinda sounded like a cat in heat."

"Kate took the news better than I thought," Quinn said, "Maybe she's not so bad after all."

"I still don't trust her," Brittany said, "You know she keeps calling Santana? Like, Kate will just randomly calls her to talk."

"About what?" Quinn looked both confused and surprised.

"Random things," Brittany said, "Maybe she's trying to be friends with Santana but I still don't like it."

"Hey," Quinn said, "Santana wasn't thrilled we were still friends but now she loves me."

"Love may not be the right word."

Quinn let out a laugh. "OK, maybe not love, but she does like me now. If she can get over you and I being friends, maybe you should do the same with Kate. If they want to be friends, why not let them? You and Santana are good right?"

"Very good," Brittany said with a smile, "OK. Maybe you're right. Maybe I'm just being psycho jealous."

"Maybe a little," Quinn teased. She got up. "OK, I'm out of here. I'm meeting Sam for dinner."

"Another date?" Brittany asked with a raised eyebrow, "That's so cute."

"Stop it," Quinn warned, "It's just dinner."

"I call Maid of Honor at the wedding," Brittany joked.

Quinn rolled her eyes and walked to the door. "Are you coming home tonight or not?"

"Yeah," Brittany said, "I have an early day tomorrow. I'll be home."

"Good, because when you're not there, Lord Tubbington stalks me."

"He loves you," Brittany said with a laugh.

After Quinn left, Brittany closed up her office and head to Santana's house for dinner.

###

Brittany moaned when she felt Santana's tongue against her own. They were on Santana's couch making out like a bunch of teenagers on a first date. Dinner had been just as delicious as the kisses they were sharing and Brittany still couldn't believe she had gotten so lucky. The after-dinner plan had been to simply watch a movie. That's it. Somewhere around the halfway point of the movie, Brittany had gotten the sudden urge to kiss Santana. So she did. That one kiss turned into a full blown make out session.

Santana gave in to Brittany. She knew she always would. Kissing Brittany was never something she would not want to do. She would gladly spend the rest of her life just kissing Brittany. She had meant to tell Brittany about what happened with Kate as soon as she saw her, but Brittany had been in such a good mood that Santana didn't want to spoil it. Not yet anyway. Now they were kissing and Santana didn't want to ruin that either.

"I love you so much," Brittany whispered as she pulled back, "I just need you to know that."

"I know," Santana whispered back, "I'm so in love with you and I've been meaning to ask you something all night."

"What's that?"

Santana pulled further back and caressed Brittany's cheek. "Move in with me."

"That's not a question." Brittany kissed Santana's cheek.

"I'm serious Britt." Santana pulled back and moved away from Brittany a bit, "I love you and I want to be with you as mucha as possible. I hate it when you leave after dinner or when I leave when we're at your place. This is it for me Brittany. You and me."

Brittany felt like her chest was expanding and she felt chills run down her arms. She couldn't contain her smile and lunged at Santana bringing her into a hug.

"Is that a yes?" Santana hugged Brittany back and buried her face in the crook of Brittany's neck.

Brittany pulled back and kissed Santana. She wanted to say yes. "No."

Santana felt a wave of disappointment hit her. "No?"

"I mean, not yet," Brittany clarified, "I want nothing more than to live with you. I've thought about it a million times."

"Then what's the problem?"

"If...if this movie doesn't work," Brittany said, "I'd have to leave and I'd have to move out anyway."

"All the more reason to move in," Santana almost pleaded, "We'll have the next few months together, here."

Brittany peppered Santana's face with small kisses. "If I move in, then it turns out I have to leave, it'll make moving out so much harder." Brittany felt her eyes burn with unshed tears.

Santana cupped Brittany's face. "No matter what happens, we won't be separated, OK? If I have to move with you, I will."

Brittany shook her head. "I told you, you are not quitting your job for me. You have a real shot of making dean and if you leave, it'll mess that up."

"You let me worry about that," Santana said with a smile, "All you have to worry about is packing."

Brittany felt a tear run down her cheek. She couldn't let Santana ruin her career for her, not when Brittany would be back in two years. "If I move in, you have to promise me that you won't follow me to New York."

"Britt..."

"Promise me," Brittany insisted, "If you don't promise me, I won't move in."

Santana wiped the tear from Brittany's cheek then went to grab Brittany's hands. She wanted Brittany to move in, but she also wanted to follow Brittany wherever she went. Part of her knew Brittany had a point. It would only be for two years and yesterday she was confident the movie would be made without problems. Then she had gotten that visit from Kate. Now there was a good chance that Brittany would have to leave and Santana wanted to spend as much time as possible with her before she had to leave. If she had to leave.

"I...I promise." Santana squeezed Brittany's hands. "I promise I won't follow you. So, now will you move in?"

Brittany wasn't sure if she was happy or sad to hear Santana wouldn't follow her. "Yes. I'll move in."

Just when Santana didn't think Brittany could make her any happier, she did. "Awesome!"

Brittany let out a laugh. "Super awesome."

Santana kissed Brittany again, putting all the love she felt for her in that one kiss. After a moment, Santana pulled back. The happiness she had felt at hearing Brittany say yes was slightly tainted by what she had to tell her girlfriend. "Brittany..."

"What's wrong?" Brittany didn't like the sudden shift in Santana's mood. "Is this about Lord Tubbington? I promise he'll behave and won't eat all your food."

Santana let out a small chuckle. "I forgot about that cat. I guess he can come too. But no, that's not what's wrong? Umm..."

"What?"

Santana took a breath. "Kate came by earlier."

Brittany smiled. "It's OK, Santana. If you guys want to be friends, I'm OK with it. I mean, you're OK with me and Quinn being friends, so it would totally be hyperbole of me to be upset if you want to be friends with Kate.

"Hypocritical," Santana corrected, "And that's not it. She doesn't want to be my friend. You were right, she wants me back and said so as much."

"She what?!"

"That's not all."

"What else?"

Santana began to tell Brittany about Kate's subtle threat and hinting that she may cause trouble with production. When Santana finished, Brittany was angry, worried and a little scared. No way would she let Kate mess this movie up.

No way.

###

Brittany looked around three long tables arranged to make a 'U' in the middle of the soundstage. All the main actors were seated round the table ready for their first meeting as a cast. Almost all the main actors.

"Where is she?" Quinn was seated next to Brittany and her patience was growing thin. This was also when Quinn was set to announce she had been made interim studio head. It had been almost two weeks since the meeting with Roz, who was already on her way back to New York. The execs had still to vote on making Quinn's title official, but all signs pointed to that happening very soon.

Brittany looked at her watch. Kate was going on 10 minutes late.

"Excuse me," Rachel spoke up, "Can we get started? All of us were here on time. Others, like myself were here half an hour early, and it's not fair to hold up this meeting for one person. Even if she is tabloid bait."

Brittany had to agree. "You're right Rachel. Let's get started." Brittany got up. "First, I want to tha..."

The loud sound of heels hitting the soundstage echoed through the stage. "I'm so sorry. But traffic was a nightmare." Kate, dressed like she had just gotten out of the club, walked directly to the lone empty chair and sat down next to Rachel. She took off her black sunglasses. "What did I miss?"

"Are you kidding me?" Brittany asked in disbelief.

Rachel moved her chair further from Kate. "So I guess all the tabloids were right then."

"Shut it Berry," Kate sneered, "You got the lead because of some twisted nepotism."

"I did not! I had the best screen test and..."

"Stop!" Quinn stood up. "Kate, you're late. You kept everyone waiting and don't let it happen again. Also, don't take out you losing the lead out on Rachel. It's not her fault."

Rachel smiled triumphantly.

"Whatever you say, boss," Kate said sarcastically, "Anyway, where's Roz? She's the only one around here who knows who to run this place."

Brittany saw Quinn smirk. "Roz is gone. I'm studio head now."

"You've got to be kidding me?" Kate looked like someone had told her Santa really existed.

"She is," Brittany chimed in, "She's the boss. And after her, I'm the boss. So...don't be late. Any of you."

Everyone seemed to get the message and the meeting went on as planned. After it was over, the cast seemed very excited to get started. They'd actually be filming a small scene today with Rachel and the actor cast to play Kurt's character. As everyone got up to leave, Brittany asked Kate to stay. She still hadn't said anything to the actress about what Santana had told her happened between them, but she needed to now in order to get this movie done. Quinn knew everything and stayed behind as well.

"Look, I'm sorry I was late," Kate said, "I really did hit traffic."

"It's not about that," Brittany said, "It's about Santana."

Kate seemed to fidget a little. "What about her?"

"She told me what happened when you came over the other day," Brittany said, "That you wanted to get back together with her and that you would try to sabotage this movie."

"Excuse me?" Kate looked utterly shocked. "I said no such thing! I am a professional. I would never do anything to sabotage a movie I'm involved with. This movie has the potential to get me a Supporting Actress nomination. Why the hell would I mess that up?"

Brittany looked to Quinn who simply raised an eyebrow.

"And as far as Santana goes," Kate went on, "The last thing I want is to get back together with her. We were a mess. I'm not doing that again. She misconstrued everything I said. I don't want her back. I mean, unless subconsciously that's what she wants and that's why she understood it that way."

Brittany's eyes widened. Quinn just laughed. "Are you insane? You think Santana wants you back?"

Kate shrugged her shoulders. "Why else would she think my simply saying we'd be good friends now means I want her back." Kate flung her bag over her shoulder. "I gotta go. I have a meetig with my managers. Santana's on set tomorrow, right?"

Brittany nodded.

"Good," Kate said, "We'll clear this out tomorrow with her. I'm sure it's just a big misunderstanding." With a big smile, Kate left and went out the closest door.

"I don't trust her," Brittany said.

"Me neither," Quinn agreed, "I want to start auditioning more actresses for her part just in case we need to get rid of her."

"Really?"

"Roz may have wanted her on this movie because she has buzz," Quinn said, folding her arm, "But I'm in charge now and I don't give a shit about celeb buzz."

Brittany smiled and threw her arms around Quinn and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "You're going to be the best boss ever!"

"Thanks, Britt," Quinn said with a laugh.

Both were startled when the sound of heels echoed. "Sorry," Kate said with a smile, "I forgot my sunglasses." She went to the table and picked up her forgotten accessory. "I'd forgotten how cute you two look together."

Brittany let Quinn go and watched as Kate waved as she left the small stageroom once again.

###

Santana felt happy. Truly happy. For the first time ever, she felt like her life was complete. She had Brittany, a successful career and was making more than decent money. Love, success and money. That's what life was all about, right?

She smiled as she packed up her things to go home. A home that would soon include Brittany. She didn't want to think about the possibility of Brittany moving to New York. They had promised each other not to think abou that and just live in the moment. That was something Santana planned to do, especially after the meeting she had just left.

She had been called in to meet the head of the English board and Carl Howell had told her that she was in the running to be the latest member. More than in the running actually as he had assured Santana she would be part of the prestigious ULA English board by next month. Santana was so happy and couldn't wait to tell Brittany.

Santana arrived home faster than usual as traffic was unusually light. When she went to open the door, she found it open.

"Hello?" Santana called out as she stepped inside and closed the door.

"HI!"

Santana smiled at hearing Brittany's sweet voice yelling from from the kitchen. "What are you doing here?"

"I LIVE HERE! WELL NOT YET, BUT SOON!"

Santana laughed as she dropped her bag on the couch and headed to the kitchen. She smiled at the sight that greeted her. Brittany was wering her apron and cooking burgers. "What is this?"

Brittany moved away from the stove with a spatula in one hand and the pepper shaker in another and walked to Santana. "I'm cooking you dinner this time." Brittany gave Santana a quick kiss and went back to the stove. "Turkey burgers. It's the only thing I know how to make that taste good."

Santana sighed and lightly bit her lip. Yup, her life was perfect. "Need help?"

"Nope! I want to do this all on my own," Brittany said, "I feel bad that you cook for me all the time."

"I like cooking for you," Santana said sitting down at the kitchen table.

"Still, I want to cook for you too," Brittany said with a shy smile.

"I can't wait," Santana said, "It smells delicious."

Brittany felt oddly proud of herself for being able to cook Santana dinner. She knew she couldn't make Santana turkey burgers forever but it was a start. She had already bought some cooking books to get ideas on what else to make. This was nice. Living with Santana was going to be perfect and Brittany cooking her dinner was only the start. "How was your day, honey?"

"Fantastic, sweetie," Santana teased back, "I'm 90% sure I'll be voted into the English board by next month."

"No way!" Brittany flipped the two patties over and turned to look at Santana. "That's what you've always wanted."

"I know!" Santana still couldn't believe it. "It's a major step for me at the school. It would totally put me in a great position to be dean one day."

Brittany smiled. "I'm so proud of you." Her smile dropped a bit. "See, this is why you can't leave. You're on your way to getting what you want."

Santana got up and went to hug Brittany from behind. "You're what I want."

Brittany put the spatula down and turn to hug Santana. "No matter what happens, we'll be together. You'll come spend the summer with me and I'll fly out here every chance I get."

Santana kissed Brittany's cheek. "Hey, we promised not to talk about moving."

Brittany moved to place a kiss on Santana's lips. "Sorry."

"Did something happen at work? Did Kate mess up your first scene?" Santana tried to stay calm. If Kate did anything to mess this up for Brittany she was going to lose it.

"Not really," Brittany said, "She was late to our first cast meeting. She said she hit traffic."

"Yeah, right." Santana was sure that was a lie.

"And..."

"What?"

"She said that you misunderstood," Brittany explained, "That she doesn't want you back and that you're the one who wants her back."

Santana couldn't help it. She laughed. "She's fucking insane."

"That's what Quinn said." Brittany let Santana go and turned her attention to the turkey patties. They were almost ready.

Santana shook her head and went to the cabinets to take out two plates. "I told Kate I was in love with you. That you and I were going to grow old and have babies together and in no way did I want her back..."

Brittany turned off the stove. All she heard was "babies" and seemed to stop listening "Wait..." Brittany turned to face Santana. "Babies?"

Shit, Santana thought. She didn't realize she mentioned babies. It was too soon. What if Brittany didn't want kids. "Umm..."

"Do you want to have kids? With me?" Brittany was afraid this was all a dream.

Santana felt her face grow hot. "Umm...I mean..." She took a breath. "Yes. It may have crossed my mind that you and I would...I mean, if you want..."

Brittany didn't let her finish. She and crossed the short distance to where Santana was standing and kissed her. She hugged her tight and felt Santana respond. "I'd love to have babies with you."

"Yeah?" Santana was glad she hadn't scared Brittany off.

Brittany lightly kissed her again. "We're going to be such hot moms."

Santana was so relived she laughed. "You know it."

Brittany stepped back a bit. "Speaking of moms. My mom wants to know when I'm going to introduce you to the family."

Santana smiled. "Funny, cause my mom was wondring the same thing."

"Cool." Brittany couldn't wait to meet Santana's family. "Maybe we should have a family dinner? My parents and sister and you parents and brother."

"That," Santana said, "Is a genius idea."

Brittany brought Santana in for another kiss. This was everything she had always wanted. Santana. "We should probably keep the babies thing a secret."

"Definitely," Santana said, "The last thing I need is my mother going on some baby shopping spree before you and I even officially move in together."

"I love you so much," Brittany said, seriously.

"Me too, honey." Santana caressed Brittany's cheek. "This is going to sound so cheesy but, I honestly didn't think I'd ever be this happy."

Brittany gave Santana a sweet smile. "We're just getting started. We have a long time together."

"I hope so." Santana cupped Brittany's face. "This is it Britt. You and me. You're my life."

Brittany tried not to cry. She felt the tears start to burn in her eyes. "You and me."

Santana let out a shaky breath. She felt like she was going to explode with emotion. She had written about this feeling but feeling it now with Brittany was a million times better than she imagined. "OK. Let's see what these turkey burgers are all about."

"I hope you like them," Brittany said moving away and adding cheese to the patties.

"I will." Santana knew she'd love anything that came from Brittany.

###

This was Santana's first day on set. She had agreed to be here two days a week and she was here to fulfill her duty. She had gotten Will to cover her classes, which were all set to take exams, so she could be here. She hated it. Apart from being able to be with Brittany, this whole Hollywood thing was was a pain.

"It's just for few hours."

Santana turned to Brittany and smiled. She was sharing Brittany's office and loved it.

Brittany went over to hug her girlfriend. The studio had offered Santana her own office while she was on set, but Santana had declined. Brittany has insisted that her office was Santana's office.

"The only good thing about being here is that I get to spend more time with you," Santana said.

"We should totally have sex on one of these sets," Brittany teased.

Santana felt her whole body heat up. "Tell me when and where."

Brittany smiled and ran her hand through Santana's hair. She knew Santana would rather be at school teaching but instead she was stuck here. "It's only two days a week for a few weeks."

"At least it's two days I get to spend with you, " Santana said.

Brittany hugged Santana tighter. "If I could, I'd spend every second with you."

"Every second," Santana repeated. She, reluctantly, stepped out of the hug. "Come one. Let me get this Hollywood job out of the way."

"OK." Brittany finally let Santana go and they both walked to the set. They were going to film their second scene of the movie. A scene that involved Kate. "You'll tell her, right?"

Santana tightened her grip on Brittany's hand. "I told you, she's fucking insane. I don't want to get back with her at all. I honestly don't know where she got that idea."

They walked into the soundstage where the crew was putting the finishing touches on the set. This was the scene where Kate's character gets introduced. Santana looked around the set and was actually impressed with what was going on. There were so many moving parts to making a movie, so many people to work with and things to juggle that for the first time she realized just how complex Brittany's job actually was. It was a far cry from her own work. For Santana, the work was all about her. She only had to worry about her and not depend on others. But this? "Wow."

"What?" Brittany let go of Santana and went to pick up the daily call sheet on her set chair.

"This." Santana gestured to the set. "I know I've been kind of dismissive of this whole thing, but I was just thinking how impressive it all is."

"Really?" Brittany smiled.

"The fact you're in charge of all of this," Santana praised, "Is amazing. You're amazing. I could never do what you do. I'd probably fire everyone within five minutes."

Brittany felt herself blush. "Thanks." Hearing Santana praise her made her feel like she could do anything.

"I'm sorry I haven't been more supportive of this movie," Santana said, "I just got caught up in it being my story but I want you to know, I won't complain anymore. I'll be here for the days I need to and rewrite whatever you need."

Brittany put the call sheet down and went to hug Santana. "You have been supportive."

Santana hugged her back but before she could speak, Quinn's voice echoed from behind her.

"Is this what it's going to be like with you two on set together?" Quinn teased. "This is a place of business. Keep it in your pants."

"We're just hugging," Brittany said with a small chuckle.

Santana turned around to face Quinn. "You may be my sort of boss now, but don't think that'll stop me from kicking your butt if you get in the way of my Britt hugs."

Quinn laughed and shook her head. "Just try it."

Santana couldn't help but smile. If someone had told her that one day she'd be friends with Quinn and actually grow to like her, she would have laughed in their face. "So, what do I do anyway? Just sit and wait to write something?"

"Watch the scene Britt is shooting today," Quinn said, "If you think it needs rewriting, go for it. Or if you want to clean up the dialogue, that's fine too. You're here to make sure the writing is what you intended for this story. Sometimes, on paper it sounds great, but when you film it, it may not work."

Santana raised an eyebrow. "I guess that makes sense. Alright, so basically I'm here so nothing gets lost in translation from paper to film."

"Exactly," Brittany said, "We want your vision of this story and..." The echo of heels interrupted Brittany. "Sounds like Kate's here."

Santana watched as Kate approached them. At least she's on time, Santana thought.

"Santana!" Kate said with a big smile, "I never thought I'd see the day you were on a movie set."

"You and me both," Santana said, "Listen, we need to talk."

Kate turned to Brittany and Quinn and said hello before answering. "About what?"

"Where the hell did you get the idea I want you back?" Santana said. She was tired of this and wanted to get right down to business.

Kate seemed a bit surprised but quickly recovered. "This is all a misunderstanding. It's actually funny how out of control this has gotten. Look, I don't want you back, you don't want me back. I'm here to work on a movie and that's what I'm going to do. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm needed in make up."

With that Kate was gone.

"What game is she playing?" Brittany asked.

Santana groaned. "Whatever. Forget her."

"I agree," Quinn said, "Let's just make this movie. If she is playing something, I'll take care of it. This movie is too important to let this soap opera drama bullshit ruin it."

Santana crossed her arms. "I'm impressed Fabray. Didn't think you had it in you to be a hard-ass."

"Oh, she totally can be!" Brittany quickly said.

"Major hard-ass," Quinn said with a smirk.

###

The next few weeks filming went on without much drama. Brittany was glad that everything seemed to be coming into place. Kate was showing up on time and seemed to have dropped trying to hint at getting back together with Santana. Even on days when Santana was on set, Kate only talked to her when Brittany was around. Brittany was still super confused why Kate had just gone on pretending like nothing happened.

Brittany shook her head. She was sitting in her office reading the scene set ups for tomorrow before she went home. Home to Santana. She smiled. They had been officially living together for a little over a week and it was amazing. When Brittany told Quinn she was moving out, she wasn't surprised but wished her the best. Brittany hated leaving Quinn alone in that big house but with the amount of time Sam was spending there, Brittany didn't have to worry about Quinn being lonely.

Lord Tubbington had not been happy to move. He had just gotten used to one place and now he was in another. For the first few nights he refused to even go near Brittany. Luckily he was starting to come around and like his new home. He had taking a liking to sleeping underneath Santana's desk, which Santana hated. But Santana let him do it anyway.

Brittany packed up her things and headed home.

Traffic wasn't that bad and she managed to get home pretty quickly. She parked her car next to Santana's and smiled at how amazing it felt that this was now her home. Brittany went inside and found the house empty.

"'Tana?" She waited for an answer and none came. She shrugged her shoulders and placed her bag on the couch. Lord Tubbington came waddling from the kitchen to greet her. "Hey buddy. Please tell me you didn't eat Santana's cheese sticks again."

Lord Tubbington simply sat in front of her and licked his whiskers.

Brittany jumped when the front door opened. Lord Tubbington run to the bedroom. "Hey!"

Santana took out her earbuds and gave Brittany a quick kiss. She had decided to go out for a run to kill some time before Brittany got home. On her run she had come across a newsstand where a magazine had caught her eye.

"You look so sexy," Brittany smirked, "All sweaty and in those tiny shorts."

"Stop," Santana warned with a laugh, "I'm all gross. I ran seven miles today. I haven't done that in a long time."

Brittany unabashedly ran her eyes from Santana's ankles, up toned legs but stopped when she got to Santana's hand. "You read while you run?"

Santana held out the magazine to Britt. "No. I was running and saw this. Look at the cover."

_Kate Dawson to Star in Independent Film_

Brittany practically snatched the magazine from Santana's hand. "Oh my God. That's our movie!"

Santana watched the big smile on Brittany's face. She loved it. "This is what you need, right? Buzz or whatever?"

"Yes." Brittany skipped to the couch and sat down to read the article. "I wonder if they mention the studio." Brittany began to flip to the page and felt Santana sit next to her. "Here. OK..._Dawson as appeared in many_...whatever..._It's a surprising move for the up and coming actress to sign on with New Directions, a struggling studio that many in the industry have written off." _Brittany's smile faded.

Santana put her hand on Brittany's knee. "Don't listen to them. What else does it say?"

Brittany cleared her throat. "..._This untitled movie comes from well known author and first time screen writer Santana Lopez_..." Brittany's smile returned at seeing Santana's name.

Santana groaned. "The professors at school are going to tease me about this. But, I am a little excited to get my name on a Hollywood magazine." Santana winked at Brittany and encouraged her to read on.

"It just talks about Kate's role," Brittany explained, "It kind of makes it sound like she's the star. Rachel's the star though..." Brittany caught her name near the middle of the article. "_Sources tell us many think director Brittany S. Pierce is not experienced enough for this project and could help put the final nail in the coffin for New Directions. 'She's just not good enough.'" _

"What?" Santana took the magazine from Brittany's hands and read it for herself. "Fucking assholes. They don't know shit. Who the fuck is this source anyway?"

Brittany felt her heat sink. "What if they're right and I mess this up."

Santana threw the magazine on the floor and cupped Brittany's face. "Listent to me. You are perfect for this. I've seen your movies and they are amazing. This is just some stupid made up quote to stir up gossip. I guarantee that no one thinks you won't do a good job on this movie."

"But.."

"No," Santana went on, "You are great at your job and you are going to make an amazing movie."

Brittany took Santana's hands in her own. Hearing Santana tell her this was making her feel better and more confident. "OK."

"Fuck that source." Santana got up and pulled Brittany up with her. "Come on. I'm in desperate need of a shower and I need someone to help me wash my back."

Brittany gave Santana a small smile. "I guess I could help."

Santana kissed Brittany's hand and lead her to the bathroom. She wished she could find that so called source and kick their ass.

**-tbc-**

* * *

**A/N: Ah! One more chapter to go and I will have an epilogue. Again, thank you so much for sticking with this and I do apologize for the long wait between chapters. You all are amazing. **


	25. Home

It didn't take a detective to figure out who the "source" for the magazine article was. After Brittany had gotten over the hurt she felt at reading that quote she knew it was Kate and and didn't feel so hurt anymore. Just annoyed.

When Brittany had shown Quinn the article she had been furious. When they confronted Kate, the actress flat out denied being the source but did give them the old Hollywood saying that there's no such thing as bad publicity.

Now, sitting in Quinn's office, Brittany let out an exasperated sigh. "Can't we just fire her?"

"We're too far in," Quinn said, "Well, no. I guess we could just do reshoots...forget it. As much of a pain as she is, some of producers for the movie love that she's in this."

"I don't get it," Brittany sighed, "What's so great about her?"

Quinn just shrugged. "Anyway, are you all set for your locations shoot tomorrow?"

"Everything's good." Brittany yawned.

"Losing steam already?" Quinn asked with a chuckle.

"Sorry. I was up late," Brittany said stifling another yawn, "It was family dinner night."

"Oh." Quinn put down the papers she was holding and leaned forward on her desk. "Tell me, did Jason and Patrice grill Santana."

"No way," Brittany quickly said, "They loved her. And her whole family. I'm pretty sure my and Santana's parents planned a trip together."

"That's great Britt," Quinn said, "And Santana's parents? Did they have Santana's charming personality?"

"Don't make fun. They were great. Like, the nicest people I've ever met. I mean, don't tell Santana, but it's hard to imagine those two nice, calm people made Santana."

Quinn shook her had and laughed. "I'm really happy for you Brittany."

Brittany felt herself blush a little. Being with Santana was everything she had ever wanted and she still could not believe she was with Santana. She thought back to all those fantasy scenarios she had thought up in her head back in college. Scenarios where Santana would finally notice her and ask her out. Fall in love with her. The reality was a thousand times better than any fantasy. "Thanks Quinn. And, hey, you're doing pretty good in the love department too."

"Maybe." Quinn blushed a bit.

Brittany smiled. Sam and Quinn had been spending a lot of time together and it was turning into something serious. "I'm glad. You deserve it."

_Ping_

Quinn looked at her laptop. "Oh! Someone's talking about our movie! I set up Google alerts." Quinn opened up her notification.

"You know," Brittany said, "We really need a title for this movie because 'Untitled Project' is starting to sound like it's the name of the movie..." Brittany stopped talking when she saw Quinn's jaw drop. "What?"

"What the hell is this?" Quinn asked, not taking her eyes off the screen.

"What?" Brittany got up and moved to stand behind Quinn so she could read the screen. When she read the article, her own jaw dropped. There on the screen was a gossip articled about Rachel being extremely difficult on set. "That's not even true!"

Brittany then got to the part that made Quinn's jaw drop. This article wasn't just about Rachel but about how Quinn and Brittany were having a "hot and steamy" romance on set.

Quinn closed her laptop. "I'm going to fucking kill Kate."

Brittany let out a frustrated sigh. "These gossip sites are making this movie sound like a big mess. This is not the buzz we need."

###

Santana took a deep breath. This was it. She was going to find out if she had been voted as the newest member of the ULA English board. Will had told her not to worry, that she was a shoe in but no matter how much everyone kept telling her she was going to get it, she still expected the worst.

"Would you like some water Ms. Lopez." Santana looked up at the Janice, one of the board's official assistants.

"I'm fine, thanks." Santana wanted desperately to call Brittany but now was not the time. Brittany was surely busy with the movie and she would just tell her what she's been saying for days.

_"You totally got that spot."_

Santana smiled. She honestly didn't know how she had gotten through the last six years without Brittany in her life. Part of her wished they had not lost all that time, but another part was glad for the time because it gave them a chance to grow up. Now they both were established in their lives professionally and knew exactly what they wanted. All that was left was building a life together. Creating a home and a family.

Santana smiled.

"You can go in now Ms. Lopez."

Santana took a deep breath and went inside. The whole board was seated behind a long mahogany table that made Santana feel like she was up for parole or something. It didn't take long. The meeting was short and the news was expected. Santana Lopez was the newest member of the prestigious ULA English board.

As she walked back to her office, she resisted the urge to call Brittany. She wanted to share the exciting news with the most important person in her life, but she also knew that this new position would further cement her place in Los Angeles. If Brittany had to move...

"Ms. Lopez?"

Santana snapped out of her thoughts and brought her attention to one of her students who had suddenly materialized in front of her. "Rebecca." The girl looked scared. Santana smiled. She wanted her students to be scared of her and had made sure she had that reputation.

"So..sorry to b-bother," Rebecca stuttered, "Um..I..w-wanted to talk about my last paper? I mean, if you have time?"

Santana sighed. "Rebecca, you know the drill. Make an appointment online and schedule a meeting."

"I did that!" Rebecca protested then immediately looked like she regretted it, "I mean...I did. A week ago and you still..umm, you still haven't responded."

Santana tried to remember the last time she checked her student appointment page and realized it had been over a week. She was usually pretty good at keeping on top of that but with so much going on, she had forgotten. "Right. Sorry. I'll check your request as soon as I get to my office. I've just been a little side tracked lately."

"Is it cause you're girlfriend is cheating?"

Santana was taken aback by what her student thad just said. "Excuse me?"

Rebecca's eyes went wide. "Oh sorry. You're, uh, you're dating Brittany Pierce right? The director?"

"Yes," Santana said slowly.

"Well, I read on Hollywood Insider that...ummm.."

"That what?" Santana was getting annoyed.

"..that Brittany Pierce was having an affair with her boss. Quinn Fabray."

Santana blinked a few times. "What the fuck is 'Hollywood Insider'?"

"It's a super popular entertainment news site," Rebecca said, "Is that why you're distracted?"

Santana bit her lip to stop her lashing out at her student. She had just been elected to the board and the last thing she needed was getting in trouble for punching a student in the face. "That's just gossip. It's not true. Now, why don't you run along and go make a YouTube video or whatever."

"My appointment?"

"Just go." Santana said, losing her patience, "I'll book something."

Rebecca scurried away and Santana continued to her office. Her first order of business was looking up this dam gossip site.

###

Brittany parked her car next to Santana's in their driveway and sighed. What a fucking day. The stupid gossip article had caused quite a bit of talk around the set, all of wich were put quickly to rest but it was still embarrassing. And of course there was Kate who denied everything yet again but had also been acting very weird. OK, no so much weird as shady. Something was going on. As soon as she wrapped for the day she was out the door in a flash mumbling something about a meeting.

That woman has been nothing but trouble since day one. Brittany got out of her car and pushed any thoughts of work out of her mind and headed inside.

"Santana?" Brittany called out while putting bag on the table by the door.

Santana came out from their bedroom when she heard Brittany call out. "Hi."

Brittany saw Santana come towards her and smiled. She loved coming home to her. No matter how shitty her day was, coming home to Santana always made things better. "Hi."

Santana couldn't stop the smile on her face at seeing Brittany. Her girlfriend had been working insane hours lately and they hadn't had a real chance to spend evenings together. Santana reached Brittany and gave her a kiss. "I ordered pizza."

"Yumm." Brittany captured Santana's lower lip between her own and have it a gentle tug.

"Was that a for me or the pizza?" Santana pulled back and smiled.

"Both." Brittany gave Santana one last kiss and released her. "I'm going to go change into my sweats. You'll never guess what happened today."

Santana watched Brittany disappear into their bedroom. She waited a bit before speaking. "Oh, I think I can. When were you going to tell me you and Quinn were having this torrid love affair on set."

Brittany came running out of the bedroom in just her bra and underwear "Oh God, did you read that? It's not true!" She didn't want Santana believing some gossip site and was scared that she did. But, seeing Santana's smile and following laughter, made Brittany relax.

"Sweetie, I know." Santana went over to Brittany and placed her hand on her waist. "I read that so called article. It's utter bullshit. Kate, I'm assuming?"

Brittany nodded. "She won't admit it but everyone knows it's her PR doing this. I mean, it's great that this movie is being talked about but I hate that it's not about how amazing your story is and instead it's all this gossip crap."

"There's no such thing as bad publicity," Santana said, "Isn't that what they say?"

"I guess." Brittany sighed and brushed a strand of hair behind Santana's ear. "I promise you though. The only person I'm having an affair with, is you."

Santana let out a soft chuckle. "It's not an affair when we're in a committed relationship, Britt." Santana moved her right hand from Brittany's hip and caressed toned abs.

Brittany felt a shiver. "Well, true but like, we could act out one of those steamy scenes in one of your stories."

"You've been reading the naughty parts in my stories, Britt?" Santana smirked. The thought of Brittany reading what she wrote was turning her on. Especially knowing Brittan was reading those chapters.

"Maybe." Brittany ran her thumb along Santana's plump lower lip. "If you're not too tired, we could see if we're good actresses."

Santana sucked on Brittany's thumb and gently bit it before letting it go. "Oh, I'm sure I suck at acting but I'd love to try."

Brittany was about to forget the acting and just take Santana right then and there but the doorbell put a stop to that.

"Pizza's here." Santana stepped back and forced herself to calm down. "Go finish changing. I don't want this pizza guy to see you half naked."

"But that could be his tip. Or her tip," Brittany teased.

"Yeah, no." Santana went to get her purse. "I'll give them a good, paper money tip, but no way is this person getting you as a tip."

Brittany let out a soft giggle and disappeared into the bedroom.

Santana paid for the pizza and placed it on the coffee table in front of the couch. Tonight was just going to be a regular movie night. Sure, they could have gone out to dinner or gone dancing, but Santana found that some of the best time she and Brittany had were them just watching TV and lounging on the couch. That's what she wanted and was sure Brittany felt the same.

Brittany went back to the living room dressed in light grey sweats and the ULA sweat shirt Santana had given her all those years ago. Her eyes immediately landed on the big box of pizza and her stomach responded with a low grumble.

"Hungry?" Santana giggled.

"I sort of skipped lunch," Brittany admitted.

Santana shook her head in disapproval. "Sweetie, you have to eat. I don't want a repeat of the paint ball thing. You work too hard and forget to take care of yourself."

"I'm fine." Brittany sat on the couch and reached for a slice and took a big bite. "_Fee...Imm mmeig._"

Santana shook her head. "I'll go get us some drinks." As she went to the kitchen she couldn't help but worry. Brittany had the tendency to really throw herself into her work and would not sleep and eat causing her to be tired all the time. Then there was the added pressure for this damn movie to do well.

When she came back to the living room two beer bottles in had, she found Brittany changing channels on the TV with one hand and holding her slice in another. Santana placed the bottles on the table and went to sit next to her girlfriend. "Find anything?"

Brittany muted the TV and put the remote down. "Forget TV. I'd rather watch you." She leaned in and gave Santana a quick kiss. "So, tell me!"

"Tell you what?" Santana asked. She knew what Brittany wanted to know but she wanted to tease hr a little.

"'Tana, come on!" Brittany turned her body to the side to fully face Santana. "Don't think I forgot. Today was the big meeting, right? Just tell me you get to be on that chamber of secrets."

"You're a dork," Santana said with a laugh, "But yes. You were right. I'm am officially part of the board now."

Brittany dropped her slice of pizza in the box and quickly moved to hug Santana. "I told you! I knew you'd get it. I'm so proud of you!" Brittany squeezed her tight and was so happy that Santana's career was really taking off.

Santana hugged back and basked in the overwhelming love she felt at hearing Brittany was proud of her. "Thank you."

Brittany pulled back and gave her girlfriend a kiss. "You'll be dean in no time and I'll be your first lady."

"I can't wait." Santana gave Brittany another kiss and reached for her hand. "Sharing this news with you really makes getting the job a thousand times better. I'll be pretty much set at the school and we never have to worry about anything. We can live here, get married, have ourselves some babies and just be happy."

Brittany felt her eyes start to water. The love she felt for this woman was impossible to describe. "That sounds perfect." Brittany placed a hand behind Santana's neck and brought her in for a slow, deep kiss.

Santana let herself get lost in Brittany's kiss. It was so easy. She let herself be pushed back on the couch and let her body be covered by Brittany's. "Honey," she whispered, "As...much as I..." Santana lost her train of thought as she felt Brittany's mouth move to neck and her tongue lick her jugular. "...umm..fuck...sweetie, you need to eat."

Brittany gently sucked at Santana's neck. She was sure she would never get her fill of tasting Santana's skin. It was her drug. "I plan to," she husked into Santana's neck. Brittany's hand moved down to the waistband of Santana's yoga pants and began to pull them down.

"Britt..."

Brittany moved from Santana's neck to look at her. "You told me to eat. That's what I'm going to do."

Santana was sure she almost came. She was beyond turned on, which always happened when Brittany was sucking on her neck. "Why...are you doing this to me?"

"Because I love you and I can't get enough of you." Brittany gave Santana a sly smile and proceeded to move down Santana's body.

Santana wanted nothing more than to have Brittany devour her but she knew that Brittany needed to eat something. Food. She pulled Brittany back up. "Britt, finish your pizza, OK? You probably haven't eaten all day and I need you to fuel up cause I plan on wearing you out later. "

Brittany caressed Santana's cheek. "I love how you take care of me."

"I just want you to be healthy."

"And pizza is healthy?" Brittany asked with a chuckle.

"It's better than an empty stomach," Santana said. She cupped Brittany's face. "I know how you get when you get too involved with your work. You don't sleep, don't eat and it's not good for you."

Brittany felt her chest tighten at hearing how much Santana cared about her well being. "OK. I'll eat the pizza. But then I'm eating you."

Santana groaned. "Ugh, God if you knew how how turned on I am right now. "

Brittany smirked and quickly put her hand inside Santana's pants, under her underwear. She felt Santana's slippery folds in her fingers. "I know." Brittany moaned at feeling just how turned on Santana was.

Santana let out a sharp gap at the sudden sensation of Brittany's fingers. "Br...ittt."

Brittany watched as Santana's face transformed into a beautiful display of pleasure. She began to massage Santana's folds and clit. "Let me... let me see you come and I'll eat my pizza."

Santana lurched forward and moaned. She clutched at Brittany's shoulders. "Ah! Oh fuck...that's not f-fair." She began to buck her hips wanting to feel Brittany's fingers more. Brittany had the longest fingers that were, just magic. She looked at Brittany with hooded eyes and gasped for air. Brittany picked up her pace and when Santana felt two fingers suddenly enter her, she couldn't keep her eyes open anymore.

Brittany was sure she could come just by watching Santana. Actually she was sure she could because she actually had. She pumped her fingers in and out and marveled at the beauty under her as Santana withered in pleasure. Pleasure Brittany was causing. Everything about Santana was beautiful. From her moans to her erratic breathing to her tight, soaking folds.

It didn't take long for Santana to come undone. She arched her back and gripped Brittany's shoulders. She let out a final cry and felt herself sink back the couch, bringing Brittany closer, her breathing slowly settling. "Britt..."

Brittany smiled and slowly removed her fingers from inside Santana. She nuzzled her neck and kissed Santana's jaw. "You know I like to have my dessert first. And I told you, you're my favorite dessert."

Santana chuckled, her breathing still a bit heavy. "Well...then I should...get dessert first too."

Brittany lifted her head from Santana's neck. "You totally just did."

"Shut up." Santana gave Brittany a quick kiss. "This is your fault. Now I'm..." She was interrupted by the ringtone on Brittany's phone.

Brittany groaned. "I'm not picking that up. I'm off the clock."

"What if it's an emergency?"

"It's never an emergency." Brittany pushed herself off Santana and sat on the couch.

"What about my dessert?" Santana asked not hiding her disappointment. She sat up as well.

"Later," Brittany smiled, "I promise. But I'm kinda starving for actual food right now."

Santana adjusted her pants and shirt. "You're right. Eat. A lot. You're going to need your strength later."

Brittany picked up her unfinished slice and took another bite. "So, Ms. Big Shot, tell me about being in this chamber."

"Board." Santana reached for a slice, "And it's pretty much the rulers of the English department."

"Oh that sounds like fun. So you get to like decide what happens?"

"Sort of." Santana went on to tell Brittany all about her new position. Sharing this with the person she loved the most was possible better than actually getting the job.

"I'm so proud of you." Brittany, her slice finished, reached for Santana's hand. "You really are the smartest person I've ever met and I'm still shocked you didn't end up with someone..."

"Stop." Santana shifted closer and squeezed Brittany's hand. "I ended up with who I was supposed to end up with. You. I might know a lot about books but I swear Britt, you are smarter than me."

Brittany brought Santana's hand to her lip and kissed it. "Let's just say, we're both super smart."

"Sounds like a plan."

_*Ring*_

Brittany rolled her eyes. "I'm going to turn it off."

Santana got up and went to get Brittany's phone. The screen indicated Brittany had missed two calls from Quinn. "Maybe you should call her back."

Brittany took the phone and put it on vibrate. "She's probably calling to ask what she should wear for her date with Sam. She was trying to decide between green and blue."

Santana smiled and sat back down in her spot. "I'm glad those two worked. You know, Sam's had a thing for Quinn since college."

"No way!" Brittany was actually surprised. "How come he never...oh."

"Right." Santana smiled. "I guess back in college we were just all with the wrong people."

"The universe totally corrected itself," Brittany said. "So happy it did."

"Me too," Santana said softly. She was about to say more when she felt something graze her leg. "Jesus!"

Brittany bent down and picked up Lord Tubbington. "There you are. Were you at your kitty meeting?"

Santana tried not to groan. She had admitted to herself that she didn't hate this cat anymore. She didn't love him either but she liked him well enough. Still though, there were times... "What kitty meeting?"

"He sometimes goes and hangs out with the neighborhood cats." Brittany scratched his ears.

"That can't be good for the neighborhood," Santana mumbled.

Brittany gave her sweet cat one more hug before putting him back down on the floor. Lord Tubbington then walked over to the other end of the living room where one of his beds was located and settled in.

"We really need to put him on a diet, Britt." Santana watched the cat waddle to his bed. A bed that was actually made for a dog, but since this cat was so big, they had to improvise.

"I told you," Brittany said, "He has a thyroid problem."

"I still don't think thats even possible." Santana turned her attention back to Brittany. "So, tell me. How is the movie going? I'm only there like twice a week so I'm wondering what's going on the rest of the time."

"Great, actually," Brittany said, "Kurt is doing an amazing job with costumes and Mercedes already finished the main song for the movie. Oh! She wants us to hear it in a couple of days."

"That's awesome! Kurt already showed me some of his work the other day and it's so good. I can't wait to hear the song Mercedes wrote. "

Brittany grinned at seeing how excited Santana was for this movie. It was such a drastic change from when it had first been announced. "I'm glad you're so supportive of this movie."

"I'm supportive of you," Santana said, "I know I hated this when it first started, but seeing how excited you are and how much work you are putting into this, I can't help but be excited too."

"I..." *_Buzzzz_* "Fuck!" Brittany picked up her phone and saw that Quinn was once again calling her. She didn't want her evening with Santana to be ruined even more, so she answered, "Green!"

"What?" Quinn asked, confusion in her voice.

"Your date with Sam," Brittany said, annoyed, "Wear green."

"No Britt, that's not why I'm calling," Quinn said.

Brittany now noticed the panic in Quinn's voice. "What's wrong?"

Santana sat up straight at hearing Brittany's question. Maybe this was an emergency. She watched as Brittany's face went from curiosity to utter horror. "Britt? What's wrong?"

Brittany kept listening to Quinn and didn't hear Santana. After what seemed like an eternity Quinn hung up.

"Honey, what is it?" Santana was now really getting worried. "Is it Sam? Did sometime happen to him?"

Brittany swallowed in hopes of getting rid of her suddenly dry throat. "It's...Kate."

"Something happened to Kate?" Santana felt relief that Sam was safe but if something did happen to Kate, it would still be bad. But not as much.

"No she...she dropped out," Brittany said, trying to keep her voice calm, "She dropped out of the movie and because she did...our main financial backer pulled out."

Santana felt her chest tighten. "What does that mean?

"It means that we don't have enough money to finish the movie," Brittany said, feeling tears starting to form, "It means that we'll have to shut it down and I'll have to go to New York."

Santana let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and cursed the day she ever met Kate Dawson.

###

Santana parked her car in her reserved spot in the studio. Today was one of her scheduled days to be on set for rewrites. Last night had not gone as she expected. She had wanted to have a fun dinner with her girlfriend and a night of them just being together and Kate had managed to ruin that. She turned to the passenger's seat and watched Brittany's worried expression intensify. "It's going to be fine. You and Quinn were already looking for replacements for Kate anyway. Didn't you say you had found someone?"

"We did...but...it's not even about losing Kate," Brittany said, "Yes, we were totally getting ready to replace her if we had to, but we didn't think our major producer would back out too. That's huge Santana. We're well into production and with all the gossip articles that have been coming out, it'll be hard to get more people to invest in this project. If we don't finish..."

Santana reached for Brittany's hand to calm her. "Hey, you'll figure this out. I know you will. Between you and Quinn, you'll fix this. I know it."

Brittany took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I don't want to leave you."

Santana brought Brittany's hand to her lips and gave it a soft kiss. "I don't want you to leave either and that's why I know you'll fix this and keep us together."

"I'll fix it."

They went inside the studio and as expected, the cast and crew seemed to be panicking. Brittany was approached by person after person wanting to know what was going on.

"Guys!" Brittany had to almost yell, "I'm going to talk to Quinn and we'll figure this out, OK? But as of right now, the movie is still on." She felt Santana squeeze her hand. "When I get news, I'll tell you." Brittany spotted Rachel among the crowd. "Rachel, can you come with me please."

Once they were away from the others, Rachel spoke. "Is it true? Are we shutting down?"

"I don't know," Brittany said.

"Surely Kate wasn't that big of a draw to have our main backer drop out. She is just a supporting character and besides, I'm a pretty big draw."

Santana rolled her eyes. "Just stop Rachel. Yes, you're famous. Sort of. Look, just let Britt and Quinn fix this OK? Don't go all drama queen diva."

"I would never!" Rachel seemed offended.

When the three of them got o Quinn's office, they found the young studio head pacing with her phone pressed to her ear. "Well, get her here! Instead of hiding like a damn coward, she needs to come in here and own up to helping ruin the lives of hundreds of people...bullshit! She still needs to sign paperwork and I'm not sending it over. If she wants out of this movie officially, she needs to come back here." Quinn hung up and turned to her visitors. "Hey."

"Was that her agent?" Brittany asked.

"Yeah." Quinn ran a hand through her hair and went to sit behind her desk. "She fucking blind-sided us."

"Wait," Santana said as she also took a seat, "Isn't she under contract or something? Like can't you force her to work? I mean, that's what has you and Brittany tied to Roz and why you can't just leave."

"Yes, she does," Quinn said, "But, unlike Brittany and I who have been under contract for years now, Kate had an opt-out clause that gave her the option to leave within two months of production. Yesterday was the last day."

"Wait," Rachel said, "How come I didn't get an opt-out clause?"

"Not now Barbara!" Santana said, "Anyway, why even give her that option."

"It's part of her standard contract apparently," Quinn said, "She was so into this movie and the idea of possibly getting some sort of nomination that I really didn't think she'd leave on her own."

"Yeah," Brittany chimed in, "We thought we'd have to fire her first."

"So what now?" Rachel asked, "Should I start looking for something else?"

"No!" Quinn protested, "We'll figure something out. We've worked too hard to get this movie up and running."

"How much money do you need?" Santana asked, "I'll be a producer. I mean, I can give back the money I got for the script and you don't have to pay me for doing any rewrites..."

Brittany felt like she wanted to cry at hearing Santana say she'd gladly give up what was due to her. "You're amazing. But..."

"It's not enough," Quinn finished.

Santana sighed. "I thought this was a small independent movie. How much is this thing actually costing?"

"Well," Quinn began, "With production, marketing, festival submissions, payroll...I'd say a good 7 million. We have two million locked, but we were counting on the other five from our main investor to finish it up."

"That's still pretty cheap," Rachel said under her breath.

Brittany's mind was racing. "Maybe Roz can..."

"Tried that already," Quinn said, "She's ready to close this place down and already has a project for us back in New York."

Santana felt that panic in her chest again at the thought of Brittany leaving. "Look, there has to be other Hollywood bigwigs you can call. This town is crawling with wanna be producers with heavy pockets."

"Santana's right," Rachel said, "This movie is amazing and I'm sure once the word gets out, other producers will want in. And count me in as producer to if it helps. I'll give up my pay for my part in exchange for a producer credit. It'd be great to add to my resume."

"Thank you," Quinn said, "Let's just wait and see what we can do first. I'm sure we'll get this sorted out.

Brittany gave Santana a sad smile and hoped Quinn was right.

###

Santana and Rachel were waiting in Brittany's office while Quinn and Brittany waited for Kate and her team in the conference room. Rachel had insisted on being in the meeting but Quinn wouldn't let her. So now, Santana was stuck with Rachel.

"This movie can't shut down." Rachel was pacing back and forth and Santana was pretty close to just pushing her to the couch so she'd stop.

"It won't." Santana sat in Brittany's desk chair. "It can't. I'm not losing Brittany."

Rachel stopped pacing and looked at Santana. "Lose her? Why would you lose her?"

"This studio will get shut down and Brittany will be forced to move back to New York to finish her contract," Santana said, "You know this."

"That I do know." Rachel sat in front of Santana. "But you make it sound like she's going to break up with you and you'll never see her again. Isn't it just two years?"

"Two years is a long time." Santana straightened in her seat. "And I know we're not breaking up, but I just...not seeing her every day for the next two years...it fucking sucks..." Santana stopped talking when she saw Rachel smile. "What's so funny?"

"I've known you for a really long time Santana and I've never seen you care about someone the way you do Brittany. You never talked about what happened back in college but being in this movie, I do now."

"What's your point."

"My point is that you and Brittany were reunited. You were given a second chance and both are you are using that chance. No way a little distance is going to mess up that second chance. You'll be fine."

Santana shook her head with a smile. Sometimes Rachel made sense. "Thank you. You're a good friend."

"Can I get that in writing?" Rachel joked, "Such a declaration from Santana Lopez is a rarity."

"Never," Santana said playfully.

Not a few seconds later, the office door opened and Mercedes and Kurt stormed in. "Is it true?" Both said at once.

"What the hell are you two doing here?" Santana asked.

"I called them," Rachel admitted, "They're our friends and I figured they should know what's really going on."

"I knew that bitch was going to ruin this," Mercedes said, her voice dripping with anger.

"What is going on?" Kurt asked again.

Santana motioned to Rachel and let her explain everything. When she was done, Kurt and Mercedes were also willing to give up their pay to fund the movie.

"Let's see what happens in this meeting," Santana said, "But, between all of us, I'm sure we can find another investor."

Everyone nodded and now all they had to do was wait.

###

Brittany and Quinn sat on one side of the large table, while Kate and her team sat on the other. Brittany was reminded of the day Kate had come in to sign up for the movie, now she was quitting.

"So, just like that?" Quinn asked, "You walked around here pretending to be excited to be part of this movie and you up and quit?"

"Ms. Dawson has an opt-out clause," Kate's manager said.

"Well?" Quinn ignored the manager and kept her eyes on the actress.

Kate just shrugged her shoulders. "I changed my mind. I found this set too... detrimental to my career."

"What?" Brittany was totally confused. "What are you talking about."

"I'm a serious actress," Kate said, with an exasperated sigh, "And this movie is nothing but a cheap straight to DVD project. My talents are best used elsewhere."

Brittany saw Quinn clench her fists. "That's amusing coming from someone who made their career doing Lifetime movies."

"Not anymore," Kate said smugly, "I was just offered the lead in Francis Ford Coppola's next movie."

"What?" Brittany didn't even try to hide her surprise. "How?"

"Well, once word got out that I was officially done with TV movies and was serious about a movie career, doors just opened up."

Brittany remembered reading something a few days ago about this movie. It was supposed to be huge and they were still casting but she never thought they'd give the lead to someone like Kate. Then it hit her. Brittany suddenly felt like she was seeing Kate clearly. "You used us."

Kate just smiled.

"What do you mean?" Quinn asked.

"Kate used us," Brittany said, now mad, "Before we cast her, all she could get was low-budget movies or TV because no one wanted to take a chance and give her something serious. But when we cast her, her image started to change. You started getting noticed by the independent movie circuit." Brittany took a breath trying to keep her voice steady. "All those articles you planted, they all made you out to be some serious actress who was stuck on an unprofessional set. A set where the director and studio head were sleeping together, a set where things were falling apart. You made yourself the victim."

Brittany looked at Quinn and saw the realization on her face. "Oh God."

Kate's smug smirk made Brittany even angrier. "As I said, I'm a professional actress and this studio is quite a mess."

"And Markenson?" Quinn asked, "How did you get our main investor to pull out?"

"Jason Markenson decided that it was best to cut his loses here and invest elsewhere."

Quinn let out a bitter laugh. "He's on the Coppola movie now too, isn't her?"

"Well, it is Coppola," Kate said, "You can't fault the man for choosing a Hollywood icon over...well, you two." Kate got up and so did her team. "Well this was fun but I have to go to a real movie studio now. I've signed all I needed to sign. My team will take over from here."

As Kate walked to the door, Brittany stood up. "Wait."

"Yes?"

"If all this was just for your career, then why were you all over Santana?"

The way Kate smiled reminded Brittany of all the Disney villains she had ever seen. "Oh that. That was just me having some fun. I had hoped to break you two up but I guess that didn't work."

Brittany blinked a few times. "So you never wanted Santana back? You were just trying to break us up for fun?"

"Something like that," Kate said, "A little payback for college. I really should go. Tell Santana I said bye."

With that, Kate Dawson was gone.

"Now," Kate's manager said, "Can we finish this up please."

Brittany sat there trying to process what had just happened while Quinn took care of all the paperwork.

###

The next couple of days were spent trying to find the money they needed to complete the movie. Santana, Brittany, Rachel, Kurt, Mercedes and Quinn had all given up their pay to help finance the movie for another few days but it wasn't enough. Roz had given Quinn and Brittany a week to find an investor to pick up the remaining tab on this movie before she would officially shut it down.

Brittany sat at her office and looked around. Should she start packing things up? Maybe not yet. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. "Come in."

"Hey Britt." Mike entered and gave Brittany a sad smile. "You ready?"

"Yeah." Brittany packed up her things and walked out with Mike.

They were on their way to dinner with their friends. Many of who were involved with this movie and looked to be out of a job soon. Mike had also offered to give up his pay.

Everyone was meeting them there, including Santana who would go straight after her first board meeting. Brittany smiled, thinking about how great Santana's career was shaping up. Even with the mess Brittany's own career was right now, knowing Santana was accomplishing everything she was setting out to do made Brittany happy.

"We still have time," Mike said as he parked his car behind the restaurant. Santana had dropped her off at the studio earlier in the day and Mike had offered to drive to dinner.

"Well, Quinn and I have been reaching out to all of our contacts and no one is interested," Brittany said, "Most of the contacts we do have are all from New York and they just don't want to produce something they can't be there to see full time. Roz isn't helping either. She's just waiting for the clock to run out so she can sell everything for parts."

"I'm sorry Brittany," Mike said sadly, "But please know that no one at the studio blames you or Quinn. Everyone knows how hard you tried."

Brittany knew she had tried. She was still trying and knew she was doing the best she possibly could, but that didn't stop the sinking feeling she felt at knowing she failed so many people. "We should go in."

Inside, everyone was already there. Santana had randomly looked up and locked eyes with Brittany and smiled. "Hi sweetie," she said once Brittany was next to her. "I saved you a seat."

Brittany kissed her girlfriend hello and sat down next to her. She looked around the table and saw all her friends and it made her a bit sad. She'd have to leave them soon.

Santana saw the sadness in Brittany's eyes and gave her a kiss on her cheek. "It'll be OK."

Brittany gave Santana a small smile. "We still have time."

"A lot can happen in a short time," Santana assured. She wasn't sure she believed all the encouraging words she was saying, but she would never let Brittany know that.

Brittany and Santana looked across the table at Kurt who had suddenly stood up. "Thank you all for coming. I know everyone has busy lives and it's been hard getting all of us together so this is already a special night. Now there will be no work talk tonight. This is just us having fun."

"That sounds like a fantastic idea," Quinn said with a laugh, Sam by her side.

"Well!" Puck said standing up, "Since we're all here and this isn't some Hollywood thing, Sugar and I have an announcement."

"You're getting a divorce!" Santana shouted and felt Brittany slap her arm.

"She hasn't dumped me yet," Puck said with a wink, "And I doubt she will now."

Sugar got up. "I'm pregnant!"

The whole table erupted in cheers and applause. Tina was the first to hug Sugar followed by Rachel. They were so loud, that they even got the attention of others in the restaurant.

Santana put her mouth near Brittany's ear so she could be heard through the noise. "That's going to be us one day."

Brittany felt her whole body heat up. "Yeah. I can't wait." Brittany turned and brought Santana in for a kiss.

The rest of the night was just spent celebrating Sugar and Puck's new baby and reconnecting with friends.

By the time they got home, Santana and Brittany were exhausted and all they wanted to do was go to bed.

"That was fun." Santana had opted to just wear cotton black shorts and black tank top. She took of her bra in one swift motion and threw it on the floor. "Ah. That's better."

Brittany chuckled. "Do you need me to massage them for you?" She pulled down her side of the covers and got under them. Brittany liked to sleep in her underwear and just a thin t-shirt.

"Maybe." Santana crawled on the bed and got under the covers. She settled herself on top of Brittany, straddling her and gave her a kiss. "Did you have fun tonight?"

Brittany put her arms around Santana and hugged her closer. "Mmm hmm." She kissed Santana again. "We should do that again. All of us, before..."

"Yeah," Santana said softly. She moved down Brittany's body until her head was resting on her chest. "Fucking Kate. I don't think I've ever hated anyone as I do her. I called her, you know."

"You did?" Brittany asked, surprised. "When?"

"The day of her meeting." Santana ran her hand down Brittany's side. "I was ready to curse her out but.."

"What?"

"She didn't pick up." Santana shrugged. "I bet she saw it was me and was too chicken shit to face me. Anyway, if I ever see her again..."

"Don't, Santana." Brittany lightly massaged Santana's head. "Forget her."

Santana sighed. "Forget her." They were silent for a while, before Santana spoke again. "This damn script. I should have just sold it the first time and washed my hands of it and just written you a new movie."

Brittany froze. She felt like Santana had just lit a fuse in her brain and now it was going crazy with ideas. "Another studio wanted this script too."

Santana felt Brittany stiffen under her. She pushed herself up to look at Brittany who now had a gleam in her eyes. "Yeah," she said slowly, "So?"

Brittany smiled. Big. She suddenly sat up causing Santana to stumble back a little. "You said Artie Abrams came to you wanting to buy your script, right?"

Santana climbed completely off Brittany and sat crossed legged beside her. "Yeah, from Dalton Studios or something. Why?" Santana wasn't sure what was happening, but Brittany seemed excited and happy. Santana hadn't seen Brittany smile like that when mentioning the movie in a long time. "What are you thinking Britt?"

"Back then Artie was with Dalton," Brittany began, "He and I met in New York and sort of went out..."

"Whoa!" Santana raised her hand, "Hold up a minute. You dated that nerd?"

Brittany rolled her eyes. "We went out once. But anyway..."

Santana crossed her arms. "Did you sleep with him?" Santana remembered Artie very well and the idea of that skinny nerd with his hands on Britt...Santana mentally shuddered.

"What? No!" Brittany was sort of regretting including that little tidbit of information. "We went out once and it was so boring. We decided to be friends, but we didn't. More like work friends. Now be quiet and let me finish."

Santana huffed She knew she was being silly but she couldn't help it. Why would Brittany even agree to go on a date with Artie. "Fine. Go on."

"When he was at Dalton, he was just mid level with some power but not really," Brittany continued, "But now he's at McKinley Brothers Studios as head of development."

Santana still didn't know what Brittany was talking about. "Britt, you're losing me with all this Hollywood talk."

"If he was interested in your movie back then, he might be interested now!" Brittany was getting more excited as she formed her plan. "Don't you see? If we can get Artie to get his studio to partner up with us, we can double our budget! We can finish this!"

For the first time in a days, Santana felt hope that this movie would get made. "But, he didn't want to make it last time because he said it was too depressing. He wanted to change the ending."

"Let me take care of that, OK?" Brittany practically tackled Santana and threw her on her back on the bed.

Santana let out a surprised squeal but smiled when she saw how happy Brittany seemed to be. "You think his studio will go for it?"

"They'd be stupid not to." Brittany said. She hovered over Santana and gave her a quick kiss. "I'll tell Quinn tomorrow. This is our best shot and I really think it'll work. We'll make this movie, it'll be awesome, the studio won't close...I stay here with you. And we don't have to wait two years to have a baby if we don't want to."

Santana flet her heart literally skip a beat. "You want to have a baby now?"

"Well, not right now, silly," Brittany said, "All I'm saying is that we won't be separated for two years and we can choose to have the cutest baby in the world whenever we want."

Santana felt a tear slide down her cheek. Brittany was talking with such confidence that it made Santana really believe that everything was going to turn out just fine. "Are you sure he'll do this?"

Brittany wiped the tear from Santana's check and kissed her. "Do you trust me?"

Santana could only nod. Of course she did.

"Trust me when I tell you everything will be OK and trust me when I tell you, I love you."

"I never doubted you love me," Santana whispered, "I love you too."

"And trust me when I tell you that you're going to be stuck with me for the rest of your life," Brittany said with a smile.

"You promise?" Santana asked, her tone serious.

"I promise."

###

Santana was pacing. She glanced over at Brittany and Quinn who where going over their notes for the meeting. Brittany had told Quinn about Artie first thing the next morning and Quinn had agreed that this would work.

"I can't believe we didn't think of this earlier," Quinn had said and quickly called Artie's office to set up a meeting. Two days later, here they were waiting to met.

Santana stopped pacing and stood in front of Quinn and Brittany. "Do I really have to be here? What if I mess this up?"

Brittany looked up. "Yes you do. He came to you first wanting your script and you're now part of this movie."

"Just let us do all the talking," Quinn added. She looked at the clock on the wall. "Where the hell is Rachel?"

"And why is Rachel involved in this?" Santana asked, still trying to understand that bit of news.

"She's the star," Quinn said, "She'll add the on screen talent element we need."

"If she gets here," Santana said.

Not a few minutes later, Artie's assistant Blaine let them know they could go in. "Right this way. Are you sure I can't get you all something to drink? A snack?"

"Water," Santana simply said and Brittany and Quinn agreed.

"Very well, I'll..."

All four of them turned when they heard the door swing open and one Rachel Berry ran in. "I'm so sorry! I got lost!"

Brittany would have laughed at Rachel's frazzled state if it wasn't for being super nervous. She didn't show it because she didn't want Santana or Quinn to be nervous too. "Just come on."

As soon as they walked in Artie walked to them to greet them. "Brittany! Quinn! It's so nice to see you two again."

Brittany was surprised when Artie hugged them. "Hi Artie. Long time no see."

"Way too long." Artie then moved to Santana. "Santana Lopez. Nice to see you too. I never thought I'd see you again."

"That makes two of us," Santana said and forced a smile.

Artie moved on to Rachel. "And of course I know you Rachel Berry. I'm a big fan."

"You are?" Rachel blushed. Santana rolled her eyes. "That's...thank you."

"Please have a seat."

Everyone took their place and Blaine appeared with waters for everyone.

"OK, so," Artie began, "I've sort of been swamped with stuff and was actually out of the country for a while so I'm kind of out of the loop. I know is that Santana here finally sold her script to New Directions Studios. Did you change the ending?"

"No," Santana said, a bit harshly, "It's still the same script. It's better that way."

Brittany recognized that tone and quickly spoke up before Santana got too annoyed. "It's a great script Artie. You know that because you wanted it. I also know that back then Dalton was into happy ending, cheesy rom-coms and that's why you wanted Santana to change the ending."

"Something like that," Artie said, leaning back in his chair, "I swear that studio makes the same damn movie over and over. But they make money."

"We're trying to make this movie," Quinn jumped in, "We've shot some of it already." She handed Artie a DVD. "These are just some rough scenes but you can see how good it can be. I'm talking Oscar good."

Artie put the DVD on his desk. "I was out of the loop for a bit but I heard what happened. I know about your studio and know this is your last shot at keeping it open."

"So you know why we're here." Quinn said.

"I do," Artie said. He let out a breath, "Look..."

"Before you say anything," Rachel interrupted, "Just watch the scenes we've shot. This is some of the best...no this is the best work I've ever done and that's because this script is the best I've read. Brittany is an amazing director and you'd be nuts to not want to be part of this."

Santana was a bit impressed with Rachel and almost said something to back her up but Brittany beat her to it.

"Look Artie," Brittany said, "I remember you telling me you wanted to make movies that didn't follow the regular boring movie recipe. How many of the movies that you've green lit have gotten critical acclaim?"

Artie shifted in his seat. "Well, none. Not really. They've made money, that they have done."

"This movie," Brittany continued, "Will get acclaim. I promise you that. We want to give you the chance to partner up with us and finish this."

"'The chance'?" Artie repeated, "Or are you all desperate because your major producer bailed?"

"Both," Quinn answered, "I'm not going to bullshit you Artie. Yes, we came to you because we need your studio to finish this, but we also came to you because we know you were the very first one interested in making this movie. You were the first one to see the potential."

"I still won't change the ending," Santana suddenly added but then regretted it when she saw Brittany throw her a warning look. "I'm just saying."

Artie stayed silent for a while before he got up. "Let me see what I can do. I still remember this script and how good it is. Let me talk to some people and I'll let you know."

The women got up and as if on cue, Blaine appeared to escort them out.

"Not to rush you," Brittany said, "But we need an answer by tomorrow afternoon."

"I'll do my best," Artie said, sweetly, "Maybe we can have lunch some time to discuss and catch up?"

Santana narrowed her eyes. Was this nerd hitting on Brittany? She instinctively reached to hold Brittany's hand.

Brittany agreed. She felt Santana's hand and gave it a squeeze. "Remember. Tomorrow."

Once outside in the parking lot everyone seemed to relax a bit.

"I think we got him," Rachel said, enthusiastically.

"What makes you say that?" Santana asked.

"He's a big fan of mine," Rachel said, "Once he sees those scenes we shot, he's totally going to want to see this movie finished."

Quinn, Santana and Brittany simply walked away with a chuckle.

###

Santana watched as the last remaining students in her class left the classroom. She was glad she was at school today because she was sure she couldn't take another day at the studio surrounded by such chaos. Yesterday everyone had been stressed out anticipating Artie's decision and it had not been good for anyone. After the meeting they had gone out to dinner and drinks. When Santana and Brittany got home, Brittany was too wound up to sleep.

Santana had tried to relax her, but Brittany was just too tense and had insisted that Santana go to bed because she had work in the morning. Reluctantly, Santana had gone off to bed alone and left Brittany watching TV. When Santana got up in the early morning, she had found Brittany passed out on their couch with Lord Tubbington snuggled next to her. She didn't have the heart to wake her, so Santana just got ready for work and left a sleeping Brittany.

Now it was almost two in the afternoon and Santana wondered if Artie had decided. Surely if he had Brittany would have called her. Right? She picked up her phone and saw she hadn't gotten any calls or texts during her class. She wanted to call Brittany and find out what was going on because if they indeed needed to stop production, that would mean Brittany could be leaving soon.

She put her face in her hands and let out a frustrated sigh. The thought of not seeing Brittany every day actually hurt her. They had already lost six years and it felt like any time apart was just too much to bare.

"Are you OK?"

Santana snapped her head back surprised. "Brittany!" She immediately got up from behind her desk. "What are you doing here?"

Brittany just smiled and stepped closer until she was able to put her hands on Santana's hips. "Are you OK? Did your class annoy you today?"

"Oh no." Santana lifter her hands to rest of Brittany's shoulders. "I was anxious about the whole Artie decision. Which by the way, what happened? Did he call? And why are you here?"

Brittany put on her best pout. "You're not happy to see me?"

Santana playfully rolled her eyes. "You know I am." She inched closer and gave her a quick kiss. "I'm just surprised. Shouldn't you be at the studio? Did Artie call?"

"He did." Brittany brushed a strand of hair behind Santana's ear. "He talked to the other studio people and told them about our movie."

"And?" Santana studied Brittany's face for any clue of what the decision had been. Brittany just looked at her with such a loving expression she almost forgot about the movie.

Brittany caressed Santana's cheek and wished they were home on their couch or in bed so she could just admire Santana all she wanted. "I love you. So much."

"He said no, didn't he?" Santana felt dread creep inside of her. "Britt?"

Brittany smiled and leaned in and kissed Santana, slowly. She kissed her knowing that she would be kissing her everyday, just like this. "He said yes." Brittany breathed into Santana's mouth.

"What?" Santana stepped back a bit to look at Brittany. "He...he said yes?"

"Yup." Brittany let her smile grow bigger. "Artie said his studio is willing to finance the rest and the marketing. And Artie said that there was a mention of McKinley Brothers buying off our studio. Apparently, they've been thinking of branching out and setting up a division that focuses on independent, smaller movies."

Santana felt like she had just won the lottery. "So...you're staying?"

"I'm staying."

Santana flung herself at Santana and hugged her tight. "You're staying." She felt Brittany lift her and spin her around. "You're staying!"

Brittany put Santana down and kissed her again. "We'll get to finish the movie and save the studio. And we'll get to stay together, like I told you we would."

"You fixed it," Santana said through unshed tears.

"I told you I would." Brittany hugged Santana tighter and just held her knowing everything was going to be fine. After a few moments, Brittany pulled back to look at Santana. "You know, now that I'm not going anywhere, I think it's time we totally did that whole teacher-student-role playing thing. Maybe I get a bad grade and you keep me after class."

Santana let out a chuckle. "I'm not even going to deny it, but that scenario has crossed my mind a few times. But we can't do that now. I have another class coming in 30 minutes."

"Fine," Brittany said exaggerating her disappointment, "But we should totally plan this for later."

"Totally." Santana got serious for a bit. "Listen, once this movie is finished, maybe... I mean, I'd like to talk about our...us starting a family."

"Babies?" Brittany asked with a smile. Every time she thought about having a baby with Santana she felt incredibly happy.

"Yeah, babies." Santana loved seeing Brittany's smile. "I never thought about kids. I honestly never even thought I'd have any... but with you...you make me want a family. The whole mini-van-soccer-mom crap I've always made fun of."

"Umm, I pictured our kids playing baseball, not soccer," Brittany teased.

"Fine, baseball," Santana laughed, "You know what I mean."

"I know," Brittany said softly, "I love you and I want 10 kids with you."

"Whoa, let's just start with one OK?"

"OK." Brittany brought Santana in for a long slow kiss. When she heard her phone ring she pulled back. "That's probably Quinn. I have to go back to the studio. I just wanted to tell you the news in person."

"I'm glad you did," Santana said. She forced herself to pull away. "I should start prepping form my next class."

"And I need to go and finish this movie."

"I'll see you at home?" Santana sighed.

"Yeah. Home." Brittany gave Santana a wave and left the classroom leaving a smiling Santana.

"Home." Santana repeated.

...

* * *

**A/N: First, I'm so sorry I took this long to update the final chapter. Life, work and family just got insane. There's still an epilogue left and it won't be this long before I post it. **

**You guys have been awesome and thank you so much for sticking with the story. And special thanks to those who took the time to comment and PM me.**


	26. Been There All Along

**A/N: So this Epilogue turned into a full blown chapter. Sorry? That's why it took so long. I guess I wasn't totally ready to let it go but it had to be done. But this is it. Thank you all soooo much for sticking with this, even through that whole Quitt business ;-p . I hope you all enjoyed the story. Until next time. **

* * *

It's been almost a year. 10 months to be exact that Brittany moved back to Los Angeles. 10 months of some of the happiest days Santana had ever known.

Now here they were, living together and loving it. Everything was, for a lack of a better word, perfect. After Artie had gotten his studio to fund the rest of the film, everything seemed to fall into place and Brittany could catch her breath. No more worrying about money for the movie and she could just concentrate on making a great film.

No one had to give up their pay, which as much as everyone was willing to do, they were happy they could keep their paycheck. New Directions studios would not close, even if this movie didn't do well. Artie's studio had bought New Directions and it was now part of McKinley Brother's Studios where they focused on art and independent movies. When the news broke, Brittany had worried that would mean Quinn would be out of a job but the studio head at McKinley had agreed to let Quinn run their new acquisition for the next year before making a final decision. So far, Quinn was far exceeding their expectations and Brittany was sure Quinn would keep her job for years to come.

"Are you almost ready," Brittany called from the bedroom bathroom.

"All done," Santana said, just outside the door.

They were on their way to the _Hearts Revelation_ wrap party to celebrate the end of the movie. Santana was so proud of Brittany that it gave her chills.

"OK." Brittany stepped out of the bathroom. She was so nervous. "Let's do this Hollywood thing." This was it. It was finally over and now with her career at New Directions stable, there was no pressure. Brittany still couldn't believe that everything had worked out for them.

Santana stared at Brittany and took in her beauty. She was simply stunning in her short black dress. When Brittany turned around, Santana saw that Brittany's back, her whole back, was exposed. Brittany's soft skin was so inviting, her back begged to be touched.

"You look beautiful," Santana said, a dreamy look in her eye.

"You," Brittany said coming near, "Look delicious." Santana was wearing a long red, silky dress that outlined her perfect figure and made Brittany wish they could just stay home, in bed. Brittany placed a small kiss on Santana's lips.

"Have I told you how proud I am of you," Santana said, keeping Brittany close with her arms around her waist.

"Many times," Brittany said with a smile, "And I'm totally proud of you too. This is your movie too 'Tana."

"But you brought it to life," Santana said.

They left the bedroom and walked out to the living room where Lord Tubbington was chewing on some treats.

"He just ate," Santana said in disbelief, "How is he still eating?"

"Leave him alone." Brittany bent down and gently scratched her cat's ear. "He's just nervous about the movie."

Santana just shook her head and went to get their coats. The studio had sent a limo and it was now parked in their driveway. This was a big night.

###

Their limo was fourth in the valet line to drop them off at the entrance of the private restaurant chosen for the wrap party. Brittany turned to give Santana a quick kiss. "Are we telling people about our baby plan?"

"Tell everyone I'm going to blow up like a ballon?" Santana asked with a nervous chuckle.

"You're going to look sexy," Brittany assured her. She gave her another kiss. "I know you're scared and that's OK cause it is scary but I'll be here and when it's over, we're going to have the most amazing baby on the planet."

Santana smiled and felt herself calm down a bit. Just as they planed, she and Brittany had had a serious talk about starting a family once this movie was done. They decided that Santana would be the one to carry their first child since her job was more accommodating and made things easier. Brittany would carry their second. Santana had been given tenure at the university a few months ago and her appointment to the board pretty much meant she could control her schedule. It wasn't just work that made Santana agree to be the one to get pregnant, somewhere along the way in her time with Brittany she had really loved the idea of carrying their child. It felt right.

"I'm scared," Santana admitted, "But in a good way."

"Me too." Brittany smiled. Their limo was now second in line. "Don't forget on Friday we're hitting up that sperm bank."

Santana groaned. "I hate that we have to go through profiles to pick some unknown donner so we can have our baby. I just wish there was a way this baby could be made with just you and me."

Brittany bit her lip. "I don't have any sperm Santana. And if I did, I'd be a guy and you wouldn't be with me. Too bad I don't have a brother...oh! I have a cousin who kinda looks like me. Maybe we can ask him. But he's like 19 so I don't know how he'd take it."

Santana shook her head. "No, sweetie. It's fine. I'm just a little mad at mother nature right now. It doesn't matter who the sperm comes from, cause this will be your baby too. Yours and mine."

Brittany felt like she was going to burst with happiness. "Yours and mine." The limo came to a stop. "So are we telling people?"

"Yeah, let's tell them."

"Awesome!"

They finally made it to the front of the line. The driver opened the door for them and Santana was first to get out. She immediately took Brittany's hand after she got out.

"Ready?" She asked.

"Yes," Brittany answered.

Santana had to admit, the location for the wrap party was perfect. It was high atop the Hollywood Hills and in this smog-free day, the skyline looked beautiful. Inside, the decorations were just as impressive. The two of them walked in and found their group right away.

"Hey!" Brittany greeted. She loved that every single one of her friends was here, especially since many had worked so hard on this movie.

There was a round of hugs and kisses, with congratulations thrown in Brittany's direction.

"Thanks you guys," Brittany said, obviously touched by her friends words, "But there should be congratulations said to all of you too. Without you this wouldn't have happened."

"She's right," Quinn said, "We all deserve credit."

"All of us!" Rachel chimed in.

Everyone stayed talking and drinking for a while, until the announcement was made that dinner would be served and for everyone to take their seats. Santana placed her hand on the small of Brittany's back and guided her to their table.

Santana thought the chicken dinner was delicious, but not as delicious as Brittany. She would occasionally kiss Brittany every once in a while. She just looked so beautiful.

"You need to stop kissing me," Brittany told Santana softly, "And eat your food."

"Fine," Santana said trying to sound hurt, "But just wait until we get home."

The night continued with everyone having a good time talking about all the crazy happenings of making _Hearts Revelation_. The group noticed that the dance floor started to get full, so Sam and Quinn excused themselves and heading to join the other dancers.

"Will you dance with me?" Brittany asked.

Santana looked into Brittany's eyes and smiled. There was no need to answer. Brittany stood up and extended her hand, which Santana took. Slowly, Brittany lead Santana to the dance floor with a confidence Santana found extremely erotic. With Brittany in front, Santana had a perfect view of Brittany's bare back. Beautiful, Santana thought.

Santana was sure people were staring, but she didn't care. She wanted them to look, to look at this amazing woman that was hers and hers alone. Once they reached the center of the dance floor, Brittany turned around and Santana took her into her arms.

Brittany pressed their bodies together and started to move with the music. Everything was perfect. Everything. It was an amazing feeling knowing everything was going to be OK and that there was nothing but happiness in the future. She leaned forward and hovered her mouth over Santana's ear. "I love you. And I'm going to ask you to marry me soon."

Santana felt her heart speed up like it was going to pop out of her chest. She leaned back to look at Brittany. "How soon?"

"Umm...now?" Brittany smiled. "I was totally going to do something super romantic and I was even thinking of having Lord Tubbington hand you the ring, but this feels like the right time."

"I..." Santana felt the words catch in her throat as she felt tears fall down her cheeks. All she could do was nod.

"So, yes?"

"Yes."

Brittany hugged Santana and spun her around. They got a few looks from others on the dance floor but that didn't matter. "Crap. I left the ring at home. I didn't know I was going to do this."

"It's OK." Santana wiped the tears from her eyes. "You can give it to me at home. I just...I wasn't expecting this. I mean, I was planning to ask you...and now you..."

"Totally beat you to it, huh?"

"Your really did." Santana let out a laugh before kissing Brittany. "But.."

"What?"

"Let's keep it to ourselves," Santana said, "And the baby. You were right about everyone working hard on this movie. Tonight is about them too. Let's not upstage that by telling them about us. We'll do that later."

Brittany felt her whole body warm up at Santana's words. "Look at you sounding like a mom already."

"Oh God, stop." Santana felt herself blush.

"But OK. We'll wait."

Their bodies continued to move with the music, both lost in their own world. Santana touched the skin of Brittany's back and let caressed. She felt so soft, so warm to Santana. It felt like a current of electricity was running between them.

Without thinking, Santana reached up in search of Brittany's mouth. That electrical current Santana felt got stronger as soon as Santana's tongue found its mate. This kiss felt different, more intimate. Maybe it was because she was kissing her future wife.

Brittany opened her mouth wider, allowing Santana to deeply explore her with her tongue. Still dancing, Brittany's hand travel to Santana's hair and pull her closer. The smell, the taste, the fell of Santana was making Brittany lose her senses. She had to try to remember that they were in a public place, surrounded by people and she couldn't explore Santana like she wanted.

Santana pulled back, for her own good. She rested her forehead on Brittany's shoulder and smiled.

"Just wait until we get home," Brittany said into Santana's ear.

Suddenly a voice interrupted the music, telling everyone to take their seats as speeches were going to be made.

Santana took Brittany's hand and lead her to their table.

"I thought you two were about to have sex out there for a second," Rachel teased.

Santana and Brittany just smiled.

The first one to speak was Quinn who talked about what a great experience this movie had been. Next was Rachel, who also said nothing but great things. Rachel had already booked another movie that was a bit more high profile and it was looking like Rachel's career was going to take off soon.

"Did you hear?" Mercedes whispered to Brittany and Santana as Rachel continued to talk.

"What?" Brittany turned to her best friend.

"About Kate Dawson?"

Santana rolled her eyes. "Who gives a shit about her."

"On no, you'll love this," Mercedes said, "So I read this morning that her big movie got shelved."

"What?" Both Brittany and Santana asked at once.

"Mmm hmm. Coppola decided to do the movie he was planning to do after Kate's was done first. And Kate's movie shut down until further notice. Now news is she's trying to get cast in that second movie but the casting rumors say that they want Jennifer Lawrence."

"Serves her right," Santana scoffed.

"I wish I could say I feel sorry for her," Brittany said, "But I don't."

"Maybe she'll go back to doing Lifetime movies," Mercedes said with a chuckle.

"Now I would like to give the podium to someone who worked really hard on this movie," Rachel said as she finished, "Someone who person kept me in check and made an amazing movie. Please, welcome Ms. Brittany S. Pierce."

Santana saw the shock in Brittany's face who obviously was not intending to speak tonight. The room erupted into thunderous applause and cheers. Santana nudged Brittany to get up when she saw Brittany hadn't moved. After a few seconds, Brittany recovered and walked up to the podium.

Brittany slowly walked up. She had told Quinn that she didn't want to speak in front of everyone. She hated public speaking and it always made her nervous. The applause was coming the loudest from her table. She finally made it to the stage and turned to the crowd.

"Um," Brittany began.

Brittany was blushing and seemed a little frazzled and Santana had never seen her look more adorable.

"Go Brittany!" Kurt yelled.

"Uh" Brittany tried again, "Thank you. Thank you all for making this happen. To Rachel for doing such a fantastic job as the lead. To Quinn for keeping the studio alive. To Artie for saving us. To all the actors for putting their heart into their roles and to the crew who worked their butts off for this."

The crowed started cheering again. Santana was mesmerized by Brittany. Santana wanted to cry, she was so proud.

"And finally," Brittany said, quieting the crowed, " To Santana Lopez who wrote such an amazing script and without her we wouldn't have a movie to film. She wasn't too thrilled at first about this movie but she ended up being one of it's biggest supportes. Thank you Santana. Thanks for putting up with my insane schedule and supporting our work along the way. I love you."

The room filled with "awws" and cheers. Santana didn't care anymore, she let the tears fall.

Brittany stepped down from the podium and headed to the table. Santana got up and pulled Brittany for a hug.

"I love you," Santana said.

Near the end of the night Santana found herself sitting at the table with only Quinn and Sam. Brittany was walking around, working the room and everyone else had spread out.

"Thank God this movie is over," Sam said.

"You too huh?" Santana asked amused.

"That was the most drama I have ever seen on a movie set," Sam said amazed, "The behind the scenes stories were more crazy than what was on film. I'm glad I work with kids. I don't know how you all do it."

Santana and Quinn couldn't help but laugh.

"Welcome to Hollywood," Santana said, "Listen, I don't think I've had a chance to tell you guys how happy I am for you two. This is the longes relationship Sam has ever had."

"Can you shut up please," Sam said, taking Quinn's hand.

"It's fine Sammy," Quinn said with a smile, "I love you and I know this will be the last relationship you'll ever have."

Santana laughed when Sam's face turned red as he smiled. She was very happy for them.

Brittany returned and held out her had for Santana. "Let's go home."

"Though you'd never ask."

They said their good byes and walked out hand in hand.

**Months Later**

"I just want to sit here and watch TV," Santana said. She sat on the couch dressed in a black, lose fitting dress. She played with her silver necklace. It had now been two months since the wrap party and they were on their way to the official movie premiere.

Two months since they told their friends they were planning on having a baby and getting married. Everyone was excited and were all willing to fly to New York for the ceremony. Brittany had given Santana the most beautiful white gold engagement ring with a sizable diamond. The very next day, Santana took Brittany to the jewelry store and bought Brittany her own ring.

"We'll only walk the red carpet and then come home, OK?" Brittany said, sitting next to Santana, wearing a tight fitting purple dress.

"No, it's OK," Santana said smiling, "I don't want to ruin this for you."

"You could never ruin anything," Brittany said, placing a kiss on Santana's lower lip, "If you feel tired or bored, we'll leave."

"It's fine Britt," Santana said. She stayed quiet for a moment, her hand on her still flat stomach, "I'm going to get so fat."

"No you're not," Brittany said with a soft laugh, "I think it's going to be a while before that belly pops out."

"Oh God, I'm going to get so fat!" Santana repeated.

"Not fat, just fuller," Brittany teased. Brittany ran her hand over Santana's stomach. They had found a donner they both liked on their first trip to the sperm bank. He had a college degree, healthy family history and the one thing Santana insisted on, that he have blond hair and blue eyes. She wanted this baby to look as much like Brittany as possible. They had everything set up and all they needed to do was actually get pregnant. While both were eager to be parents, they wanted to spend a little more peaceful time alone.

Santana let out a laugh, "OK, fine. No more complaining."

"Come on," Brittany said, "The limo is picking us up soon. Let's go wish Lord Tubbington a good night."

Santana got up and she and Brittany went to the kitchen where Lord Tubington was eating dinner.

"Bye Lord Tubbington," Brittany said, "Don't stay up too late."

Santana just let out a chuckle. Yes it was ridiculous wishing a good night to a cat but she didn't care. "Bye Tubbs. Go out and look for a job."

"Don't be mean," Brittany said, "We should go."

"Let me just get something really quick." Santana disappeared into the bedroom and grabbed the professionally wrapped gift she was planning on giving Brittany later. She put it into her purse. She usually took small purses with her to events, but she needed to hide the gift, so she took her big purse.

"Hurry," Brittany shouted.

Santana hurried out and followed Brittany to the limo.

"I can't believe this whole thing is finally over," Brittany said, once they were inside the limo and on their way, "It feels like it took forever."

"Tell me about it," Santana said, "This is the last thing right? I mean no more parties?"

"Nope. Done," Brittany said, "After this, no more _Hearts __Revelation_."

"Unless you get nominated for awards," Santana said, with a smile, "That's the buzz around Hollywood."

"How do you know about the buzz?" Brittany asked amused.

"Hey, I keep up with the biz," Santana answered, "I've got Google Alerts on our names, the studio and this movie."

"No you don't," Brittany said laughing.

"I do," Santana said with a smile, "Please, like you don't."

"Maybe I do," Brittany said, "But I have to, for work."

Santana smiled. She stayed quite for a while. Life is good, Santana thought.

"You look deep in thought," Brittany said taking Santana's hand.

"I'm just thinking about how great our lives are," Santana said.

"They really are," Brittany agreed.

They rode the rest of the way in silence, caressing each other's hands.

"We're here," Brittany said, "You ready?"

The limo pulled right in front of the theatre entrance. Santana could see flashes from the cameras going off through the tinted glass.

"Let's do this," Santana said.

They stepped out of the limo to a sudden assault of flashes from the cameras. It only lasted a few minutes, then it was only a few photographers taking pictures.

"I guess we're not famous enough," Santana chuckled.

"Good," Brittany answered, "All these flashes are going to give me a seizure."

They finally made it inside to the lobby, where they saw Kurt and Mercedes.

"Hey it's the director and her ball in chain," Kurt teased.

"Hey," Brittany greeted.

"Hey girls," Mercedes said.

"What time did you guys get here?" Santana asked.

"Like 10 minutes ago," Mercedes said, "We rode in with Holly."

Brittany looked around and spotted her former teacher. "Oh! I'm going to go say hi. I'll be back."

When Brittany was gone, Santana turned her attention to Kurt and Mercedes. "How long is this thing anyway?"

"Don't tell you you want to leave already?" Kurt asked, "Santana, you're like the hot writer of the moment. Brittany told me you've got studios asking you to write more scripts."

"I'm done with Hollywood," Santana said, "I only did this one to keep Brittany here. I have a career at the school that I love."

"You always were such a nerd," Kurt said.

"I think it's great," Mercedes said, "Less stress. Especially now that you and Britt are getting married and plan on a baby soon. By the way, how soon is soon?"

"Oh yes!" Kurt said, "I'm counting down the days to the wedding next month. I have the whole thing planned but I will need notice to plan on any baby parties."

Santana chuckled. "I though Sugar was the professional party planner?"

"She's busy with her own baby, she doesn't have time," Kurt said.

Sugar and Puck had had a healthy baby girl. When they had made the announcement, Sugar was already pretty far along and then the baby decided to come three weeks early. Santana still couldn't believe Puck and Sugar were parents. "Where are they anyway? Puck and Sugar. Are they here?"

"I think they're hitting the snack bar," Kurt said, "This is their first night out in ages. Are you sure you and Brittany want a baby? It's death to your social life, you know."

"We'll be fine," Santana said with a small smile.

"Hey!" Brittany said rejoining the group. "Oh 'Tana, our parents are here already."

"Yeah, my mom texted me before we left, " Santana said, "We should go find them."

They left to find their parents to make sure they didn't embarrasses them too much. It was quite amazing how the Lopez and Pierce parents had become BFFs and maybe a little weird. After a while Santana and Brittany left them to find their friends again.

Brittany was getting stopped every now and then to talk to produces, actors, agents. Santana just wished for this night to end. She turned to Brittany after she had finished talking to some sort of agent, "I'm sorry sweetie, but can we go sit down or go somewhere else."

"Sure," Brittany said gently, "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine," Santana assured, "I just want to sit down."

"You don't want to sit through the movie huh?" Brittany asked.

"Of course I do," Santana said, even though she didn't sound too convincing. She did want to be here for Brittany, but the thought of sitting through a movie that was based on their lives didn't appeal to her all that much. Even if she was the one who had written it.

Brittany took Santana's hand and excused them from the group. Santana followed Brittany to a secluded corner behind a pillar.

"Santana," Brittany began, "I know you don't want to sit through this. And neither do I."

"You don't?" Santana asked, surprised.

"I'm proud of this movie, I'm glad it's going to be seen by everyone. But I've seen it already, from beginning to end, many times. I'm sick of it."

Santana let out a laugh.

"I wanted to surprise you," Brittany said coyly.

"Surprise me?"

"The plan was for us to walk the red carpet, then sneak out while the movie is playing, and come back for the after party."

"Sneak out where?" Santana asked, smiling.

Instead of answering, Brittany brought Santana in for a kiss, "Let's go."

Santana felt giddy as Brittany lead her back to the group by the hand. They spent a few more minutes talking to everyone and when the time came to be seated, Brittany and Santana held back.

Brittany took Santana's hand and they went to the far side of the lobby where an elevator awaited them.

"What are we doing?" Santana asked, excited.

"Come on," Brittany said, a big smile on her face.

They got in the elevator and Brittany hit the top button.

"Brittany, we can't just go up there," Santana said, still with no clue what was happening.

"Yes, we can," Brittany said as the elevator went up, "The theatre owner and I have an understanding."

"You're full of surprises," Santana said softly.

The elevator stopped at the top floor and the doors opened to reveal a long hallway. It was completely empty and full of old theatre chairs, popcorn machines and other furniture.

"This is creepy," Santana said, "Are you planning on scaring me to death."

"No," Brittany said laughing.

As they stepped out of the elevator Brittany opened a door to the right to stairs that went up.

Still holding Brittany's hand, Santana climbed the stairs and soon they were on the rooftop of the theatre.

"Wow," Santana said, taking in a deep breath of the night air. The lights of the city glowing all around them, "It's beautiful up here."

"I thought this would be better than the movie," Brittany said.

There was a long couch near the center with a coffee table .

"Why is there a couch up here?" Santana asked surprised.

"The non-romantic answer is, the kids who work here use it for their breaks," Brittany said, "The romantic answer is, I brought it up here myself to surprise you."

Santana felt like she was going to cry, "Let's go with the romantic answer."

They went to sit on the couch and to Santana's surprise, it was extremely comfortable. On the table where bags of what looked like food.

"Don't worry," Brittany said, "I paid one of the ushers to bring this up here. It's only been sitting here for five minutes."

"Is that...," Santana began to ask, taking a whiff, "Smells like barbeque."

"It is!" Brittany said, as she opened the bags with foam containers, "Barbeque ribs!"

Santana laughed happily, "Oh God, I can't believe you did this."

"You said yesterday you were craving barbecue ribs," Brittany said, "So, it's my job to get them for you. I figure it's practice for when you're pregnant. But for now we can eat some ribs, watch the city lights and think up names for our baby."

Santana's laughter soon turned to happy tears. This gesture from Brittany was so touching and sweet, Santana's tears could not be held back.

"Oh honey, don't cry," Brittany said, putting the ribs down and going to kiss Santana's eyes.

"This is very sweet," Santana said, collecting herself, "Thank you."

"Come on," Brittany said smiling, "I'm starving. Let's eat some ribs!"

"Britt, we're going to get sauce all over our dresses."

"Nope," Brittany said. She opened another bag and took out two large bibs.

"Holy fuck," Santana said laughing.

Brittany put Santana's bib on and then her own.

They watched the city and ate their ribs, sauce all over their hands and faces.

"We're worse than kids," Santana said finishing up a rib.

"Yeah," Brittany said chuckling, "OK, so names. For a boy, I'm thinking George or Brad or Hugh or..."

"Are you just naming celebrities?" Santana asked, amused.

"Maybe."

"Come on," Santana said, "We can think of something else. How about Robert."

"No," Brittany said shaking her head, "Sounds too grown up. How about Steven?"

"I knew a Steven once," Santana said, "Hated his guts."

"OK," Brittany said with a chuckle, "Michael?"

"Too common." Santana shook her head. "Nicholas. How about Nicholas or Alexander?

Brittany thought for a moment, "I actually like both. Yeah, OK. Put those on the finalist list. Now for a girl, I'm thinking... Selena, Charlize, Drew..."

"You're naming celebrities again." Santana chuckled.

"Fine, fine." Brittany looked out into the city lights. "Los Angeles."

Santana gave her girlfriend and incredulous look. "You want to name our possible future daughter Los Angeles?"

"Is that too weird?"

"Very." Santana saw the disappointment in Brittany's face and immediately felt bad for dismissing Brittany's suggestion. "How about something like Angel? Or Angelica or Angelina?" When she saw Brittany smile again, she felt better.

"I like it. We'll but those three on the finals list." Brittany never thought picking out names would be so much fun.

Santana laughed. She reached for her purse and pulled out her gift. "Here, I was going to give this to you later, but now seems like the perfect time."

Brittany cleaned her hands with her napkin and took the beautifully wrapped gift. "What's this?"

"Open it." Santana smiled and watched as Brittany slowly opened her gift.

Brittany hated messing up this gift wrapping masterpiece but she really wanted to know what was inside. It felt like a book and when she finally uncovered it, she found out her guess had been right. "Is this...I thought you said you weren't finished?"

"I sort of lied," Santana said shyly, "I wanted to surprise you."

Brittany read the cover out loud. "'_Been There All Along'_. By Santana Lopez."

"Read the dedication," Santana said.

Brittany took a breath and already felt tears start to form. "'_To Brittany, the love of my life. Had I noticed sooner, I would have known she had been there all along. I'm glad I finally did_.'" She felt the tears fall and when she looked up she saw that Santana was waiting for a response.

"Is it too corny?" Santana asked feeling a little self-conscious.

Brittany shook her head. "It's perfect," she whispered, "I love you."

Santana let out a breath, relieved. "I love you too." She leaned over and kissed Brittany. "This is story is a love story, Britt. It's the story of us. This is the story I want you to read, the one I should have written."

Brittany settled herself on Santana and rested her head her her chest. "Thank you."

They stayed on the roof until the movie was over. They then headed to the after party that was only a block away. When they were inside, Santana's good mood instantly faded. Everything on the rooftop was perfect and now everything was loud, rushed and crowded.

Brittany senses Santana's mood change and put her arms around her shoulder. "Let's just stay for like half an hour to make our mark and then leave, OK?"

Santana put her arm around Brittany's waist. "I told you I don't want to ruin this. I'm fine. And anyway, I could use a strong drink."

Brittany kissed the top of Santana's head and lead her to the bar where they found the majority of their friends. "I knew we'd find these fools by the booze."

Santana stopped Brittany. "Before we go all party mode, I just want to tell you how proud I am of you. That you directed this movie and kept us together. I honestly don't know what I would have done if we had to be separated."

"Me neither." Brittany leaned in and gave Santana a soft kiss. "Thank you. It means a lot knowing you're proud of me and I'm so proud of you too. You were a big part in all this."

"I didn't do anything..."

"Stop," Brittany interrupted, "Do you remember what you told me when you were tutoring me back in college?"

"That I wanted to ravish your body?" Santana joked.

"Besides that," Brittany said, "You told me that you didn't want to hear me doubting myself or putting myself down."

"I did say that," Santana said softly.

"I'm telling you that now," Brittany went on, "You deserve as much credit as me, as any of us."

"Thank you."

Brittany kissed her again. "Now come on. Let's celebrate our awesomeness."

Santana smiled and followed Brittany.

**Months Later**

Santana opened her eyes to a dark room. It was a little past 5 a.m. and the sun was still not up. Today was the day. Today they would announce the Oscar nominations. Santana looked over at a sleeping Brittany and debated waking her wife.

_Hearts Revelation_ had been critical hit just as Quinn and Brittany had predicted. It wasn't a blockbuster but it did make a huge profit for an independent movie. Artie had been thrilled and his studio was ecstatic they had finally produced a movie was bringing them critical fame. Quinn had been offered a five year contract to continue running New Directions and Brittany wasn't short of movie projects and was quickly becoming one of Hollywood's most sought after directors.

Brittany had already won a couple of independent directing awards, for the movie and the buzz was that Brittany had a good shot at a directing nomination. Brittany had been nominated for a Golden Globe and that was enough for her. Santana knew Brittany didn't really care if she got a nomination or not and had pretty much dismissed the idea so Santana didn't wake her.

She slowly got out of bed and walked to the living room to turn on the TV. The news was still on, so she waited. Ten minutes went by when Santana heard Brittany come to the living room.

"'Tana? Why..." she yawned, "Why are you up?" Brittany went over to the couch and laid down with her head on her wife's lap. "It's super early."

"I know honey," Santana said softly. She ran her hand through Brittany's hair. "The nominations are today."

"Oh." Brittany was now wide awake. She knew she didn't have a chance at a nomination considering only a handful of women had ever been nominated and only one had won for directing. If this movie had any shot at a nomination, it would be for Santana. "We'll get the full list later, let's got to bed."

The nominations started. By the end, there was no nomination for Brittany but there was one for Santana for best original screen play and one for the movie for best picture.

"Holy shit." Santana was completely shocked.

"Santana!" Brittany tackled Santana and hugged her. "I knew it! Congratulations." Brittany as so happy. She didn't care she didn't nominated, that didn't matter because Santana had.

"This is bullshit!" Santana got up, leaving a stunned Brittany on the couch. "You should have gotten nominated! How the fuck do they nominate the movie but not you? Did it direct itself? Assholes..."

Brittany watched with an amused smile at her wife's angry rant.

"Why are you smiling?"

Brittany got up and kissed Santana's forehead. "I knew I wasn't going to get one. I already have that Golden Globe nomination and that's fine. The movie got nominated and I'm listed as a producer so I did get nominated. But Santana! You got nominated for your writing!"

Santana calmed down and let the news sink in. "Oh shit!"

**Years Later**

Santana slowly lowered herself to sit down on the blue couch of the cafe where she and Sam had decided to have lunch. Santana had wanted to have lunch at home, but Sam said she needed to get out of the house. Santana groaned and placed her hand on her large stomach. "You need to hurry up, cause I need my abs back."

Santana was a little over eight months pregnant and as much as she was excited in the beginning she was over this pregnancy now. She wanted to meet her and Brittany's baby. Now.

The waitress came by and she ordered a lemonade. She spotted Sam and waved.

"Don't worry," Sam said sitting down, "Just a couple of more weeks."

"I feel like I've been pregnant forever," Santana said, her hands on her stomach.

"It really feels like you have," Sam said, "You look a little miserable."

"You try carrying a human around in your body," Santana shot back.

"I'll pass, thanks," Sam said with a laugh, "Thanks for meeting me."

"Sure. I don't know why you insisted we come here though," Santana said, "We could have easily eaten at my house."

"I wanted you to get some fresh air. "

"I guess I have been cooped up indoors these few weeks," Santana said with a smile.

"Look, if you don't want to be here, we can go," Sam said, "I'll drive you home OK? And we'll hang out there and watch movies and order a pizza or Chinese."

"OK, that sounds nice," Santana said, "I've missed you. We need to hang out more."

"It sucks being an adult," Sam said, "Too many responsibilities, so little time."

"Tell me about it," Sam said getting up, "Let's go."

Brittany had dropped off Santana at the cafe on her way to the studio. So Sam drove Santana home and Santana noticed that Brittany's car was already in the driveway.

"Oh, that's weird," Santana said, "She said she had a bunch of meetings today."

"It is pretty hot out," Sam said, "Maybe they called it an early day."

"Maybe."

They got out of the car and walked to the front. Santana took out her keys and opened the door. As soon as she stepped inside, Santana saw something that she wasn't expecting.

"SURPRISE!"

"Oh shit!" Santana said, stunned at seeing all her friends and family in the living room surrounded by balloons and other party decorations.

"Happy baby shower!" Brittany said coming over to Santana and giving her a kiss.

"So you weren't at work?" Santana asked, still trying to recover from the surprise.

"Nope," Brittany said with a big smile.

"Happy baby shower Santana!" Rachel said coming up to Santana and hugging her.

"I thought you were in Vancouver doing that movie?" Santana hugged her back.

"I was, but no way I was missing your baby shower," Rachel said.

"Thank you." Santana was glad Rachel had made it. After their movie almost three years ago, Rachel had become quite the sought after actress. Although she didn't get any nominations for their movie, _Hearts Revelation_ had opened up a lot of doors for her friend. Rachel now had a Golden Globe nomination and a SAG award. The film she was working on now was already getting her Oscar buzz.

Brittany took Santana's purse and placed by the table on their bookcase that housed Santana's Oscar and her other many writing awards. Every time Brittany saw them, her heart swelled with pride. Her own Golden Globe, Independent Spirit and other directing awards sat side by side Santana's.

Santana walked over to Brittany and hugged her the best she could with her protruding belly. "Thank you honey," Santana said, touched at the surprise.

"Well come on!" Mercedes said, holding a margarita, "Let's get this thing started!"

"Hey, that's not fair!" Santana cried, "I can't drink!"

"Sorry girl," Mercedes said taking a sip, "But that's your problem."

Brittany kiss Santana's head, "Sorry Santana, but I had to serve alcohol."

"Whatever." Santana pouted.

Brittany watched Santana walk over to Puck and Sugar to talk. Brittany took this moment to look at her house and just soak in just how lucky she was. She was married to the girl of her dreams, they were about to be parents, she had a job she loved and friends she couldn't imagine not having.

Mercedes came over to Brittany. "You look happy."

"I am."

"I know," Mercedes said, "I can't believe I'm going to be a Godmother. Are you sure you want me to do this?"

Brittany smiled. "Of course I do. Santana and I both want you to. You're my best and oldest friend, Mercedes. I love you and I know you'll love this baby as if he or she were our own. "

"You know I will," Mercedes said, "Speaking of this baby. Why won't you find out if it is a boy or girl? I need to know so I can get some proper shopping done."

Brittany put her arm around her friend. "We want it to be a surprise."

"This is messing with my plans, just so you know," Mercedes said.

Brittany laughed. The song Mercedes had written for their movie had been a hit and now her best friend was writing originals songs for other movies and up and coming artists. "Come on, let's go get some more margaritas."

For the next 90 minutes Santana enjoyed her party and all the games that come with a baby shower. Now everyone sat in the living room eating chocolate cake that was shaped like a baby bottle.

"I bet you can't wait to give birth," Kurt said.

"Oh my God yes," Santana said, "I feel like I can't move. And the baby has been kicking me like crazy."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better" Sugar said, "You don't look like you gained that much weight."

"Luckily," Santana said, "It seems to be all stomach."

"She already has a workout plan," Brittany said, who was sitting next to Santana, "A diet and everything."

"There's nothing wrong with planning," Santana said.

"No there isn't," Brittany said leaning in and giving Santana a quick kiss.

"So, have you changed your mind about finding out the sex?" Mike asked.

"No!" Brittany said.

"I gotta say," Quinn said, "That's pretty brave not knowing. I don't think I could wait."

"It's fun," Brittany said.

"We'll find out soon," Santana said, "When you get pregnant you can do whatever you want."

"Sam and I are going to have a baby in a couple of years," Quinn announced.

"Really?" Brittany asked happily.

"Yeah," Sam said smiling, "Or a year. Who knows, next time this year we could be pregnant."

"Wow!" Kurt said, "Damn, all these kids are making me feel old."

"Alright!" Mercedes announced, "Presents!"

One by one, Santana's friends gave her a present: baby clothes, blankets, toys, and how to get your body back in shape after pregnancy book.

"That's from me!" Rachel said.

"I figured," Santana said.

Everyone stayed all afternoon to celebrate Santana and Brittany's soon to be baby. After everyone was gone, Santana enjoyed her evening with Brittany. Brittany and Santana sat on the couch watching a movie.

"Give me your feet," Brittany said.

Santana smiled and adjusted herself to lay on the couch with her feet on Brittany's lap. Brittany began to massage Santana's feet.

"Mmm," Santana moaned softly, "That feels good."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," Santana said. She watched Brittany's small smile as she massaged and just marveled at how beautiful her wife was, "I miss you."

"I'm right here," Brittany said, turning to face Santana. "We've been together almost all day."

"I know," Santana said, "I mean, I miss being with you, making love to you."

"Me too," Brittany said softly, her hands moving all over Santana's feet.

"I feel so huge," Santana said, "I don't feel attractive at all."

"Listen to me," Brittany said seriously, "You're beautiful and sexy and there's no rush. I'll be right here when you're ready."

"I love you so much," Santana said through unshed tears.

"I love you too," Brittany said as she brought up one of Santana's feet, "And your feet," Brittany kissed the toes,"And you swollen ankles," she placed another kiss.

Santana laughed.

"Just a couple more weeks," Brittany said.

"I can't wait," Santana said.

**Weeks Later**

Santana was sure something was wrong. She should have given birth three days ago, but here she was, sitting in her living room, still pregnant.

Santana saw Rachel come into the living room from the kitchen with a glass of water.

"Here you go," Rachel said handing Santana the small glass. Rachel had finished her movie and was now back home for a while.

"Thanks," Santana said. She had intended to take a sip, but ended up drinking the whole thing.

"Why are you still pregnant?" Rachel asked sitting down.

"Ask this kid," Santana groaned, "I can't take this anymore!"

"Shh Santana, the baby will hear you," Rachel said, "Anyway, I was talking to Kurt earlier and he wants to know if you'll be able to make his fashion show next week. He's finishing up the costumes for his last movie, but he finally found the time to finish his line and he..." Santana winced. "What's wrong?"

"Ummm," Santana said getting up, "The baby's restless I think."

Santana walked to the kitchen with Rachel right behind her.

"I just...," Santana began to say but stopped. She felt a warm liquid travel down her legs, "What the...?"

"Oh my!" Rachel said, "I think your water just broke."

"Oh shit!" Santana exclaimed, a slight panic in her voice, "Brittany. I have to call Brittany!"

"Santana, calm down," Rachel said, taking out her phone, "We still have plenty of time."

"Please call Brittany," Santana said as she looked at the puddle on the floor.

"OK," Rachel said.

Brittany was at the studio. Although she had offered to stay home, Santana had told her going to work would be fine. Rachel would be with her.

Rachel dialed and within seconds, she was talking to Brittany, "Brittany dear, Santana's water just broke...no, she's fine...OK, no contractions...well maybe one, but it doesn't look like...OK..." she handed the phone to Santana.

"Brittany?"

"Santana, are you OK?" Brittany asked, her voice almost frantic. Brittany felt her throat go dry. This was it. Their baby was coming.

"I'm OK, my water broke and...I think our...ugh...is coming."

"I'm on my way," Brittany said, "Call...911!"

"It's OK," Santana said with a chuckle, "Rachel's with me, remember. She'll drive me.

"Oh right!" Brittany felt like her body was crawling out of her skin, "I love you."

"Me too," Santana said. She hung up and immediately called Kurt.

"Who are you calling?" Rachel asked, "We need to get you to the hospital!"

"Kurt," Santana said, "I promised him I'd call him when my water broke."

"Are you serious right now?"

Santana ignored Rachel and was glad when Kurt picked up on the second ring.

"Hey Santana," Kurt said, "Can I tell you how hard it's been designing my next outfit. I feel..."

"That's great Kurt," Santana said not listening, "Look, my water broke..."

"Your sink overflowing?" Kurt asked.

"No, Kurt the water in my uterus!" Santana yelled, "I'm having the baby so met us there!"

"Oh my God Santana!" Kurt almost shrieked, "How exciting!"

Santana hung up and within seconds after the shrieking started.

"Let's go!" Rachel said as she dragged Santana out the door.

"My bag...the one we packed," Santana said.

"I'll get it," Rachel said heading to the bedroom.

"Argh!" Santana grunted grabbing her stomach, "Shit this fucking hurts."

"Is he coming out now?" Rachel asked when she came back, bag in hand.

Santana let out a few deep breaths, "It's gone, shit...OK."

"Let's go!" Rachel said grabbing Santana's hand, "Come on! I don't want to have to deliver this kid in the back seat of my new Beemer."

Santana let Rachel lead her to her car and they got in and drove off. Rachel was driving faster than Santana wanted. "Jesus! Slow down!"

"Relax," Rachel said swerving cars.

Santana wasn't sure what she was most afraid of, having this baby or Rachel's driving.

"Fuck!" Santana shouted.

Soon they reached the hospital and entered the ER where Rachel proceeded to announce to the whole waiting area that a baby was coming.

"Baby on the way!" Rachel yelled, "Where's the fucking wheelchair?"

Nurses came running to Santana and took her inside, with Rachel closely following.

"I'm sorry," one of he nurses said, "Who are you?"

"I'm the birth coach," Rachel said, "At least until her wife gets here."

"Argh!" Santana grunted as another contraction hit her.

Another nurse appeared with a wheelchair and Santana sat in it and was soon on her way to the maternity ward. When the elevator doors opened, Santana was greeted by a doctor who began to ask her many questions.

"Rachel," Santana said through gritted teeth, "Call Brittany. See where she is."

"OK."

Santana was taken to a room where she was helped in changing to a gown and then placed on the bed. The doctor examined her and told her she was only 2 centimeters dilated.

"We still have time," the doctor said.

About 15 minutes later, Brittany came running through the doors.

"Brittany!" Santana said, relieved to see her.

"Are you OK?" Brittany said rushing to the bed and kissing Santana. A huge wave of relief hit her seeing that the baby hadn't been born yet.

"Yes," Santana said, "The contractions are still pretty far apart an the doctor said I'm only 2 centimeters."

"OK good," Brittany said taking Santana's hand, "I was afraid I'd miss the birth of our baby."

"This is fucking scary Britt," Santana said, not hiding her fear.

"I know sweetie," Brittany said, placing a kiss on the top of Santana's head, "It's going to be OK. It'll over soon."

"We have to call my parents and yours..."

"I already did," Brittany said, "On the drive here I called them they're on the way."

"Good," Santana said, as another contraction hit her, "SHIT!"

"Breath with me," Brittany said taking deep breaths.

Santana followed Brittany's breathing and soon the pain passed.

"OK?"

"Yeah," Santana said, "Is Rachel still here?"

"She's out in the waiting room. She's on the phone calling everyone."

"Good," Santana said with a slight chuckle.

The doctor on-call came into the room, "Hello, I'm Dr. Drake and I'll be delivering your baby."

"Wait," Brittany said getting up, "We have a doctor..."

"Yes, well he's currently in a complicated delivery and there's a good chance he won't make it. But I can assure you I'm perfectly qualified. He sent me."

Santana felt a little apprehensive about the sudden change in doctors, she didn't like the sudden change. But there was nothing they could do abou it. "OK," Santana said.

Brittany nodded.

"OK," Dr. Drake said, "Let's take a look at you."

The doctor examined Santana and found that she was now six centimeters dilated.

"You're progressing nicely," he said, "Just hang in there OK? Your contractions are going to get closer and closer so be prepared."

"OK," Santana said her hand clutching Brittany's.

"Also," the doctor said, "You have quite a small army out in the waiting room."

"Thanks doctor," Brittany said with a smile.

When the doctor left, Santana told Brittany to go out and give everyone a progress report.

"OK," Brittany said, "I'll only be gone a minute." Brittany rused out to the waiting room and was surprised at already seeing her and Santana's parents, Kurt, Quinn and Sam. "Wow, you got here quick."

_"Is it a boy or girl"_

_"Is Santana OK?"_

_"Let's see the baby!"_

Brittany raised her hands at the sudden onslaught of questions. "Whoa! Slow down everyone No baby yet, I just wanted to tell you it'll be soon." Brittany left her friends and family and rushed back to Santana. She stopped by the door to her room and took a deep breath. Brittany was scared but she didn't want Santana to know. She was glad she had decided to wear one of her baby animal ties today so she had something to do with her hands to burn off any nervous energy. She took one last breath and went inside.

Santana was working on her breathing when Brittany came back. She noticed her wife was pulling at the top of her tie and knew that Brittany was anxious. "It's going to be fine, Britt."

"I know," Brittany said with a small smile. She went to sit on the edge of the bed next to Santana.

Santana finally had time to notice the tie Brittany was wearing and it made her chuckle. "Baby ducks."

"Huh?"

"Your tie." Santana reached over and ran her hand over the tie. "This is the tie you were wearing when we met."

Brittany looked down and realized it was the same tie. "I thought I lost it when I moved in, but I found it last night behind the closet so I decided to wear it."

"I'm so glad they made me go to that lecture," Santana said softly.

"Me too." Brittany leaned in to give Santana a kiss but pulled back when Santana winched.

Another contraction hit Santana and it felt stronger than the ones before. "Come on baby," Santana said, "Enough teasing, just come out already."

"Breath," Brittany said and kissed Santana's forehead.

Another contraction hit.

"They're getting closer." Brittany swallowed the lump in her throat. This was really happening.

"Uh huh," Santana said through gritted teeth.

"It's OK sweetie," Brittany said moving her hand behind Santana's back and began to massage her lower back.

"That feels nice," Santana said.

Marsha, their nurse, kept coming in to check on Santana every few minutes. After about 20 minutes, Santana's contraction were only minutes apart.

The doctor came in and examined Santana.

"Alright!" Dr. Drake said, "It's time. Let's deliver this baby."

Even through the pain, Santana felt an incredible sense of happiness and excitement. The doctor instructed her to push, she did. The pain wasn't as bad as she expected and Santana thanked God for the invention of the epidural.

"Almost there," Brittany said holding Santana's hand, "Come on." She was in awe of Santana who was doing such an amazing job.

Santana pushed, and pushed and pushed and suddenly they heard a cry.

"Oh my God," Santana said, tears running down her cheeks.

"It's a boy!" the doctor said as he handed the baby to Santana.

"He's here," Brittany said, also crying. She felt over whelmed.

"Oh my God!" Santana said, as she held her son for the first time. He had stopped crying.

"He's beautiful," Brittany said, laughing and crying at once.

"Hi Alexander," Santana said softly. He opened his eyes and Santana saw they were blue, "Britt...he has your eyes." Just as she'd hoped.

"Well, not really mine..."

"Yes, yours," Santana insisted. Alexander was created by Brittany just as much as herself and Santana would make sure everyone knew that.

"OK," Brittany said wiping away tears, "Mine." They had a son. "He's perfect."

"I'm sorry, but we have to clean him up," the nurse said reaching for the baby.

Santana reluctantly let him go.

"I love you," Brittany said placing a kiss on Santana's lips, "You were great."

"I love you too," Santana said. She leaned back on the bed, exhausted. She felt drained. "Holy shit! Can you believe we have a baby?"

"No," Brittany said laughing, "It's fucking unbelievable."

Santana and Brittany were able to take Alexander home in a couple of days and their house turned into a circus with constant visitors coming to see the baby.

Santana now sat on the living room couch dozing off. The baby had kept Santana and Brittany up most nights and they were both exhausted. Brittany put Alexander to sleep, while Santana stayed in the living room trying to watch TV.

"Santana? Santana?"

"Whaa...what?" Santana said suddenly sitting up to find Brittany in front of her, holding the baby monitor.

"You dozed off," Brittany said smiling.

"No I..." Santana tried to say, but a yawn betrayed her.

Their conversation was interrupted when they both heard a familiar voice on the TV.

"Is that..." Brittany began.

"It is," Santana said, suddenly very awake, "It's the one and only Kate Dawson doing a Target commercial."

Brittany tried not to laugh, "So much for her booming movie career. I honestly forgot about her until now."

"Karma's a bitch." Santana smirked and turned off the TV.

###

After about two weeks at home, Brittany and Santana decided to throw Alexander a welcome home party that would only include their closest friends and family. They spent all morning setting up Alexander's party out by the pool, with the help of Mercedes and Kurt.

Santana went to the living room and rocked Xander to sleep. Brittany and Santana had decided to call him Xander because Brittany thought it sounded cool.

"How's our boy?" Brittany asked softly, coming into the living room.

"Just when I think he's going to sleep, he opens his eyes," Santana said.

Brittany leaned in and gently placed on kiss on Xander's forehead, on top of his light hair, "Don't tease your Momma," she whispered.

"It's OK," Santana said with a chuckle.

"I can take over if you want a break," Brittany said.

"It's fine," Santana said, "He's almost asleep."

"Seeing him like that makes me want another one," Brittany said softly.

"Uh, let's just get this one to walk first" Santana said, "Then I'll knock you up for our second."

"You're so romantic," Brittany teased.

After another minute Xander was fully asleep and Santana put him in his basinet.

By the afternoon, people started arriving and Brittany started up the grill. All the usual suspects were in attendance. Even Rachel, with her busy schedule, had made it a point to attend. The backyard was soon full of activity.

"Hey guys," Quinn said as she and Sam arrived, "Where is my new nephew?"

"He's still asleep," Santana said from one of the lounge chairs. Xander sound asleep next to her in his basinet.

"Awww," Sam said coming up to the baby, "He's so cute. He's got your skin color Santana. Well, a little lighter."

"Won't we wake him with all this noise?" Quinn asked.

"He'll be fine," Santana said, "The tough part is getting him to sleep, but once he's out, he's out." Santana caught movement by the bassinet and spotted Lord Tubbington. The chunky cat had taken up sleeping by the Xander's crib every night, almost like a guard. "It's OK, Tubbs. He's fine." The cat yawned and laid down next to the bassinet and just watched everyone.

"So," Quinn went on, "Did Brittany tell you about _Been There All Along_?"

"That you want me to convert it to a script so you can make another movie? Yeah, she told me," Santana said.

"And?"

Santana shook her head. "Not interested. You just made one of my stories into a movie..."

"That was like three years ago! Ages in Hollywood time," Quinn protested.

Santana groaned. "I don't have time to do all that now. I'm this close to being elected head of the English board at school which puts me in a prime spot for dean in a few years. I'm concentrating all my work energy at school. And in case you didn't notice, I have a newborn to look after now. I don't have time."

"Then just sell the rights," Quinn insisted, "We'll hire someone else to write the script."

"Oh hell no! No one else touches my stories." Sanata took a deep breath. The book she had written based on her and Brittany had been a big hit. Her publisher was shocked since they never expected a love story between two women to sell as well as it did. She never intended to make another movie and wasn't sure if she wanted to again. Especially not this story. Brittany had told her she would support her no matter what she decided. "I'll think about it."

Quinn seemed satisfied and went to join the others.

Brittany finished cooking a few burger patties and made Mike, Tina and Sam their burgers. She looked over at Santana and their son and smiled. How did I get so lucky, she thought. She finished up another patty and made Santana her turkey burger just like she liked it. As she walked over she smiled at seeing Lord Tubbington standing guard by Xander. "One Santana Special."

"Thank you honey," Santana said, "Come here, you get a kiss." Santana got up and kissed the cook.

"What do I get if I bring you some fries?" Brittany asked with a smirk.

Santana leaned in close to Brittany's ear. "Another kiss. But on your other lips," she whispered

Brittany groaned and stepped back. It had been a long time since they had been together, which was fine with Brittany. She would wait for Santana as long as needed, but she did miss her wife. "Really?"

Santana winked. "Really. I'm ready."

Brittany's eyes went wide. "Right now?"

"Tonight." Santana couldn't hide her amusement. "I miss you and I don't want to wait anymore."

Brittany felt herself getting turned on just at the thought and wished this party was over.

"Where's the booze?" Puck asked getting up from the table.

Brittany snapped out of her thoughts. Grateful for the distraction. "No alcohol at this party."

"Are you kidding me?" Puck asked stunned.

"Yes she is," Santana said smiling, "The beer is in the kitchen."

"Don't scare me like that," Puck said going to the kitchen. He soon returned with a few bottles.

"I hope that's for everyone," Quinn said, holding Puck and Sugar's daughter, Sabrina.

"Daddy, I wanna one," Sabrina said.

Puck opened his bottle. "Sorry pumpkin, this is a daddy drink."

Sugar suddenly appeared and took Puck's beer, "Mommy's drink now."

Everyone laughed and Puck reluctantly passed the remaining bottles to Kurt, Mike and Mercedes.

Puck then turned to Santana and Brittany. "So how come you didn't ask me to be the Godfather?"

"Because Kurt is Xander's Godfather," Santana said, "And Mercedes is his Godmother."

"And I'm so thrilled!" Kurt said, excited, "I mean I don't really believe in God per say, but Godfather status is pretty prestigious."

Brittany shook her head. "Yup and when we have our second child, Quinn and Sam are going to be the Godparents."

"Excuse me," Rachel interjected, "I'd like to call dibs on Santana and Brittany's third child."

"You're Jewish," Santana said, "Jewish people don't do Godparents."

"Kurt doesn't believe in God!" Rachel protested, "Let's not kid ourselves, this whole Godparent thing is not really about religion."

"We'll see," Brittany said, "Let's just say, we'll consider it."

"That's all I ask," Rachel said with a smile.

"Wow, look at you planning ahead," Sugar said.

Santana couldn't help but smile. She looked around at everyone: Quinn, Sam, Kurt, Mercedes, Mike, Rachel, Tina, Puck, Sugar, her and Brittany's parents, Brittany's sister and Santana's brother. All these people were her and Brittany's closest people in the world and Santana couldn't have asked for a better group. Even after all the crazy shit they'd gone through, in the end each one had helped enrich their life.

Brittany sensed Santana looking at her and turned to face her. "You OK?"

"I'm fine. I was just thinking that we should take a picture."

"That's an awesome idea!" Brittany went inside and brought out her camera and tripod. "OK, let's get a family picture."

Tina walked to the camera and got in position, "First a picture of Santana, Brittany and the baby."

Brittany picked up her son and sat next to Santana and got in position.

"Wait!" Santana stopped Tina before she took the picture. She bent down and picked up Lord Tubbington and placed him on her lap. "Can't forget this monster."

"Awww," Quinn said as Sam put his arm around her.

Tina took a few pictures of the family before Brittany suggested her parents and sister and Santana's parents and brother join them.

With everyone in the shot, Tina took a few more.

"This is crazy," Santana said, "All of you are family. We need a picture of all of us together."

Tina, set up the camera while everyone squeezed around Santana and Brittany and the baby.

"OK...Mercedes move a little to the left," Tina said looking through the camera, "OK. Perfect! No one move!"

Tina set the timer and ran to get in the shot. The camera took a couple of shots.

"Perfect," Brittany said and Santana agreed.

"Just perfect."

**-The End-**


End file.
